RockSigma received the Innovation of the Year award

RockSigma a company with background at Luleå University of Technology, has received the Innovation of the Year award presented at the Luleå Business Awards on 24 May. The other finalists for the award also have their background at the university.

“Our market is mainly outside Sweden and we are a fairly unknown company here locally and regionally. In addition to the fact that it is fantastic fun and a great energy boost to win, the prize at the Luleå Business Awards helps to profile us here at home, which of course is important when we are recruiting” says CEO Emil Svanberg, RockSigma.

The Innovation of the Year award is given to a company or a organisation that has developed an innovation for new solutions and created a positive change during the year. The innovation must be in use and promote social, economic or environmental sustainability.

In addition to the winner RockSigma, the companies Remos Space Systems AB and ZeoMem Sweden AB were also finalists for the prize. All companies originate from research at Luleå University of Technology and have been supported through the innovation chain associated with the university.

Through the university's innovation office they received early-stage advice and support on how to commercialise their research results. The research was then developed into companies via the Arctic Business incubator programme.

“So worthy winners among top candidates! The success of the winners at the Luleå Business Awards is a fantastic confirmation that the cutting-edge research conducted at Luleå University of Technology can make a real difference in society. Through the university's innovation office, innovative researchers are supported in their journey to utilise their knowledge”,says Marita Holst, Head of Collaboration and Innovation at Luleå University of Technology.

About the finalists:

ZeoMem Sweden AB is a spin-off from Luleå research on ultra-thin zeolite membranes. It is a completely new environmentally friendly technology for gas purification that can save a lot of energy and the energy saving potential corresponds to more than Sweden's entire current oil consumption. For the purification of biogas, the membranes can reduce electricity consumption by more than 40 per cent compared to the current best technology, which is polymer membranes. ZeoMem Sweden AB is now conducting pilot tests of the membranes for biogas purification.

Remos is a pioneering startup specialising in advanced virtualised ground stations for satellite operations. Founded in 2021, Remos emerged as a spinoff from a PhD project in collaboration between Luleå University of Technology and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The company was founded by alumni Moses Browne, Petter Lindberg and Thilini Aracchi. Today, Remos provides ground station solutions to a wide range of customers, including national space agencies, space companies and SMEs worldwide.

RockSigma, which grew out of many years of research at Luleå University of Technology and LKAB, works with underground mines that have challenges with seismicity, earthquakes associated with their operations. RockSigma develops software that provides the mine with real-time monitoring, reliable decision making and earthquake forecasting. With a better understanding of how mining and earthquakes are related, the mine can be operated with increased safety and improved efficiency.