TU Dresden project PRUUVE wins Photonics21 Innovation Award 2022

05 Jul 2022

University spin-off working to take reusable UV sensor foils to market maturity.

Tim Achenbach (L) receives the prize from Photonics21 President Lutz Ashke.

It was only in May of this year that Tim Achenbach, Dr. Paul-Anton Will and Dr. Philipp Wellmann started the spin-off project PRUUVE at TU Dresden, Germany, with the aim of bringing reusable UV sensor foils to market maturity.

On Friday, July 1st, the PRUUVE team was honored with the Photonics21 Innovation Award for their project. At the annual meeting in Brussels, Achenbach was presented with the prize and a check for 5000 euros by Photonics 21 President Dr. Lutz Ashke.

Photonics21 was hosting its Photonics Partnership Annual Meeting – the first since 2019 – which the organization describes as “the most important event of the European photonics industry”. More than 300 guests, including CEOs, heads of research institutions and representatives of the European Commission and EU member states, attended.

Achenbach commented, “We are very pleased that we were able to present our idea to the European photonics community and convince the jury with our novel UV sensor.”

Multiple applications

Reusable UV sensor foils and labels.

In project PRUUVE, which stands for Phosphorescent Response Under UV Excitation, the three physicists are developing UV sensor foils for the precise measurement of the UV dose in industrial applications, such as the sterilisation of air, water and surfaces or for the rapid curing of coated surfaces, printing inks, paints or adhesives.

The foils are directly attached to the surfaces or components to be irradiated, where they allow optical control of the UV dose. The new technology thus offers a fast and reliable control of the success of UV curing and UV disinfection, thus avoiding unnecessary waiting times and overdosing.

“We are convinced of our versatile PRUUVE technology and will develop new applications and products in the coming years,” said project cofounder Dr. Philipp Wellmann. Besides being used as optical sensors, the foils can also be used as rewritable labels.