Our ELEKTRA research project was awarded second place at the “IGF Project of the Year 2025” award ceremony. The prize, which was awarded for the first time by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) funding program, recognizes particularly innovative and practically relevant research projects within the framework of Industrial Collective Research (IGF). 

With ELEKTRA - an electrodynamic antifouling coating for maritime applications - we and our project partners are making an important contribution to environmentally friendly biofouling prevention in the maritime sector. The system completely dispenses with biocidal agents and instead uses an alternating electric field to effectively prevent the fouling of ship hulls, in particular sensors or windows. ELEKTRA thus represents a forward-looking, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional solutions based on UV radiation or wiper systems, which usually require structural adaptations.

The award was presented on March 27, 2025 as part of the IGF Congress in Berlin. The three finalists, who were selected by the IGF science council, were presented in short videos (link to video). At the end, the audience was able to decide which project would now bear the title “IGF Project of the Year 2025”. Dr. Michael Baune was there on behalf of CVT to accept the excellent second place. 

We would like to thank all our project partners at Fraunhofer IFAM and TU Dresden as well as the BMWE for their support as part of the IGF funding. Second place is not only a recognition for us, but also an incentive to continue our work on innovative and sustainable solutions.