CuNex: Successful foundation with THI participation

The company of Ph.D. student Sri Krishna Bhogaraju and Prof. Gordon Elger is developing novel copper sintering pastes that can be used in a wide range of applications, particularly in the field of electromobility.

Focusing on innovation: Kirsten Kohlmann, Head of the Legal Department, THI President Prof. Walter Schober, and the company founders Sri Krishna Bhogaraju and Prof. Gordon Elger (from left to right).

The business model of CuNex GmbH is based on the sale of copper sintering pastes and consulting in the development of sintering processes. The compound material is used in optoelectronics and high-performance electronics and is in extremely high demand due, among other things, to the rapid growth of e-mobility. The copper sintering paste was developed within various publicly funded research projects in the "Microelectronics Packaging" group at the Institute for Innovative Mobility.

The idea for the foundation was born more than two years ago when industrial partners gave very positive feedback during the evaluation of the sintering paste. When Sri Krishna Bhogaraju together with Maximilian Schmid won the Rotary Research Award Ingolstadt 2021, the founding idea was finally realized step by step. In close coordination with the Center of Entrepreneurship and THI President Prof. Walter Schober, the contract to take over the patents developed in publicly funded research projects was negotiated.

The THI itself holds shares in the company. CuNex has also already raised capital from Schlenk SE, a family-owned company with a 150-year history in research and production of copper particles and foils. The cooperation with the Roth-Barnsdorf-based company makes it possible to offer the world's first copper sintering paste "made in Germany" or "made in Bavaria".

As the first point of contact, the Center of Entrepreneurship supports the start-up activities of all THI members by providing advisory support throughout the start-up process. Further information can be found at: www.thi.de/studium/center-of-entrepreneurship.