At the regional final of the Startup School Cup in Fürstenfeldbruck, student teams from the Munich area presented their business ideas. The team from Olching won with reusable bottle caps, followed by concepts for safe nighttime travel and CO₂ capture.
Approximately 200 guests filled the hall at the Veranstaltungsforum Fürstenfeld for the regional final of the Startup School Cup 2026. Seven high schools from the Munich area participated and presented their business ideas.
The team from Gymnasium Olching secured first place with the “CapIT” concept. It proposes replacing conventional bottle caps with reusable, sealable lids. These consist of a ring made from recycled plastic that attaches to the bottle neck and a reusable closure. The product is available in various colors and aims to extend the shelf life of beverages. In a further development phase, the team plans to collaborate with students from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich on a closure that can serve as an indicator for knockout drops. The development is initially intended to take place in a garage that will also function as the first production site. Prototypes were presented to the jury as 3D-printed models.
The jury evaluated the presentations in the categories of market, value chain, design, calculation, presentation, summary, and overall impact. The five-member team of three female and two male students particularly impressed in four of these areas and thus prevailed.
Second place went to the “Chary” team from Viscardi-Gymnasium in Fürstenfeldbruck. The idea involves an affordable escort service for safe journeys home, especially in the evening and at night. Using Munich as an example, it was shown how around 450,000 women, including about 150,000 students, could be connected via an app platform with security-checked escorts. Bookings for S-Bahn rides or the onward journey would be possible at significantly lower costs than taxi or ride-sharing services. Profiles and a rating system are intended to ensure safety.
Third place was taken by the “CarboTech” team from Graf-Rasso-Gymnasium in Fürstenfeldbruck. It focused on the capture of CO₂ at emission sources such as highways. The AI-developed boxes are to be mounted on guardrails and contain CO₂ filters. The captured gas would be transported via pipelines to collection points and could, for example, be used as a coolant. At a unit price of around 2,100 euros and planned installations every 50 meters, however, significant investment costs would arise, which were discussed intensively with the jury.
The regional final demonstrates how students address current societal issues such as sustainability, safety, and environmental protection and translate them into entrepreneurial concepts. The event, which took place in Fürstenfeldbruck for the second time, promotes entrepreneurial thinking in a school context.
Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de