Wittenberg/Germany, 19 June 2020 – Tesvolt, the manufacturer of electricity storage systems for trade and industry, has today been named “Top Innovator of the Year” in the TOP 100 competition. It secured first place in its size category in this leading innovation contest for German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition to the young company’s rapid growth and agile organisational form, the 31-member jury was also impressed by the innovative technology that underpins Tesvolt storage systems. This was the competition’s 27th instalment.
“Germany lives on innovation. From a global perspective, Germany is a highly innovative country. But we must work to ensure that this remains the case and that we constantly reinvent ourselves. The key to these efforts are SMEs, which are the driver of our economy – and therefore the foundation of our prosperity,” says Ranga Yogeshwar, TOP 100 mentor. “Tesvolt has leapt into the ranks of the top innovators for 2020 – and did so with its first entry in the competition.”
Scientific selection procedure
TOP 100 honours businesses for their successful innovation, examining every stage of the innovation process as well as the climate of innovation and the extent to which management promote innovation. In total, the jury considers 120 parameters when selecting the winners. The panel is made up of experts from business, academia, the media and politics – including consultant Roland Berger and politician Gregor Gysi, for example – and selects an “Innovator of the Year” in each of the three size categories. The competition is led by Nikolaus Franke from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, one of the world’s leading innovation researchers.
Impressive company growth
In explaining its verdict, the jury said: “The founders of Tesvolt were quick to recognise the demand for powerful energy storage systems in commercial and agricultural applications, and they developed the first prototypes literally in their garage. Tesvolt has now moved to series production at Europe’s first gigafactory for commercial storage systems. Over 1,000 customers worldwide are now using the patented energy storage systems – impressive company growth within a few short years.”
Technological USP
The jury was also impressed by the intelligent battery management system developed by Tesvolt’s engineers, which delivers exceptionally high efficiency of over 92% and a long expected lifetime of 30 years. “With this Tesvolt has achieved a technological USP in the marketplace,” the jury’s statement continued.
A climate of innovation at the company
Two years ago, Tesvolt opted for an agile organisational form. Since then, the company has dispensed with a bottleneck of managerial staff so that all decisions are now taken as a team. This allows each individual to maximise their contribution and unleash their potential without restrictions. The jury takes the view that “this unusual organisational form allows for a high degree of innovation.”
“We’re incredibly proud to have won this demanding competition! Our agile organisation means that all of our staff ultimately contributed to this victory. The success of Tesvolt is based on the commitment of every single individual, and I would like to thank the entire team for their efforts,” explains Daniel Hannemann, CEO and co-founder of Tesvolt. “But it is not simply a desire to innovate that motivates us.
Rather, we’re driven by the vision of bringing affordable, clean energy to every corner of the world with the help of efficient storage technologies – and innovation is the foundation for doing so.”
About TOP 100
In 1993, compamedia began awarding the TOP 100 seal of approval in recognition of exceptional innovation and outstanding innovative success in SMEs. Since 2002, scientific management of the award has been in the hands of Prof Nikolaus Franke, who is the founder and Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The mentor for TOP 100 is the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar, and the project’s partners are the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) and the BVMW (German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses).
TESVOLT AG is one of the innovation and market leaders for commercial and industrial energy storage system solutions in Germany and Europe. TESVOLT products enable companies to end their energy dependency and play a part in the energy transition. The agile company produces intelligent lithium storage systems with power ratings from 10 kilowatt hours through to multiple megawatt hours – with top quality and TÜV-certified safety. TESVOLT manufactures its commercial storage system solutions in series production at its own carbon-neutral gigafactory in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and delivers them worldwide. The company has already received several awards, including the German Entrepreneur Award in the “Rising Stars” category, “Innovator of the Year” from TOP 100 and the smarter E Award in the “Outstanding Projects” category.
Ingo Valldorf
Corporate & Financial Communications
Phone: +49 3491 8797-234
E-mail: ingo.valldorf@tesvolt.com
by Cicero Design
German