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From curiosity to impact

22/09/2025

The 4th TransPLANT Day at Future Tech Fest in Düsseldorf highlighted how cutting-edge plant science moves from curiosity to deep-tech innovation.

A group of people discusses at a stage

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The TRANSPLANT team in fron of the TRANSPLANT booth.

© TRANSPLANT

Two men talking to each other on bar stools

© TRANSPLANT

Panel discussion on a stage with audience.

© TRANSPLANT

From Curiosity to Impact

Funding the Journey — From Research to Deep Tech

The CEPLAS initiated project TransPLANT aims to tackle one of the biggest challenges in research transfer: turning curiosity-driven, fundamental research into socio-economic impact.

We want researchers to see themselves not only as knowledge creators but as innovation drivers — people who can build the future by advancing science while also creating companies, jobs, and solutions that strengthen the innovation ecosystem and economy of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

For too long, many brilliant scientists have seen entrepreneurship or market-oriented solutions as distant from their role. TransPLANT was designed in part,  to change that mindset — by connecting researchers with founders, investors, corporates, and policymakers to explore how breakthrough science can become deep-tech ventures, scale-ups, and even public companies.

 

A Year-long Series

In 2025, TransPLANT Days unfolded as a four-part series across our partner universities:

  • 1st TransPLANT Day — Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU)
    “CEPLAS Meets Industry” – 13 March 2025
  • 2nd TransPLANT Day — University of Cologne (UoC)
    “Supporting Entrepreneurial Scientists and Science-Based Startups” – 15 May 2025
  • 3rd TransPLANT Day — Hochschule Rhein-Waal (HSRW)
    “Engaging Farmers to Impact Society Through Applied Plant Research” – 2 July 2025
  • 4th TransPLANT Day — at Future Tech Fest
    “Funding the Journey from Research to Deep Tech” – 11 September 2025

 

Highlights from the 4th TransPLANT Day

 The 4th TransPLANT Day brought together researchers from HHU, UoC, and HSRW with founders, investors, and policymakers from across NRW — united by one bold question:
Who funds the future — and how do we get there from here?

The day began with the TransPLANT Networking Reception: Connecting Entrepreneurial Scientists, Students, Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Organizations, where early-stage researchers, startup teams, and investors met face to face to exchange perspectives.

In the TransPLANT Fireside Chat: From Breakthrough Science to Scale-Ups, Tim Hiddemann, Managing Director of Gateway Factory, shared what it takes to turn deep science into scalable companies — why an entrepreneurial mindset matters from day one, how Gateway Factory supports teams from first traction to international scale, and how TransPLANT helps researchers build networks of innovation excellence and develop their first startup concepts. These projects can then be supported by Gateway Factory through mentorship, industry partnerships, and access to investment pathways.

We also showcased inspiring examples like Plantman — a CEPLAS-based concept developing plant-derived therapeutics for Huntington’s disease — alongside student-led projects such as the iGEM team, who are already pushing the boundaries of plant science, synthetic biology, and sustainability.

As Tim shared on LinkedIn:

“Where Plant Sciences & Deep Tech Scaling intersect: Great conversation with Dr. Ricardo Godínez-Moreno at Future Tech Fest on how to turn excellent science into business ventures to get to the real-world impact, i.e. scale, that is required.”

 

A 360° View on Funding the Future

We closed the day with the TransPLANT Panel Discussion: “Who Funds the Future? The 20-Year Journey from Scientific Discovery to Deep-Tech IPO”, moderated by Daniel Stadler from NMWP Management GmbH.

 The panel brought together venture capitalists, government officials, entrepreneurial scientists, and innovation catalysts, offering a 360° perspective on the journey from lab to impact.

 

Panelists included:

  • Sabine Blankenship (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia – MWIKE.NRW) on how early-stage public support and market engagement can de-risk innovation.
  • Jan Engels (High-Tech Gründerfonds – HTGF) on translating scientific potential into investable startups and his own path from scientist to venture capitalist.
  • Georg Lentzen (b.value AG) on why patient investors commit to long development cycles in hardware-heavy fields like synthetic biology.
  • Prateek Mahalwar (BIOWEG) on how interdisciplinary teams and clear market focus helped his company scale from research to production.
  • Tim Paulke (NUNOS) on how his spin-off from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) used non-dilutive funding to bridge the “valley of death.”

Together, they highlighted a shared truth: a scaling mindset is not just a growth phase — it is the decisive step that turns scientific breakthroughs into accessible, affordable, and impactful solutions. Scaling requires patient capital, collaborative ecosystems, and long-term vision — and it is how science ultimately delivers socio-economic impact, innovation, and jobs.

 

Our Mission

Every big solution begins with curiosity — with bold ideas tested and validated through research and experimentation.

At TransPLANT Days, our mission is to give bold ideas a real chance — by inspiring through example, fostering a culture of research transfer, and building a strong community that links excellent science with industry and public partners, entrepreneurial mindsets, and funding opportunities — all with the goal of transforming discoveries into tangible socio-economic impact.

This is how we are building the journey from curiosity to scale — from science to impact.

Written by: Dr. Ricardo Godinez-Moreno

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