2026-10-01_Eric-Kemnitz_7398

SpinLab ScaleUp Award

The SpinLab ScaleUp Award is an annual prize awarded by SpinLab Group.  It recognizes companies that have made the leap from startup to an internationally expanding scaleup. SpinLab first presented the award at the opening of Halle 7 at the Leipzig Baumwollspinnerei in 2026.

Winners 2026

Sunfire (Dresden)
Sunfire develops electrolyzers for producing green hydrogen and has become a key player in the energy transition. The company employs over 700 people and has raised more than €500 million in growth capital.

CargoBeamer (Leipzig)
CargoBeamer moves non-craneable semi-trailers onto rail and drives the decarbonization of freight transport. The company has around 160 employees and has raised roughly €140 million in investment capital.

  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-3
  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-1
  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-5
  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-4
  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-2
  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-6
  • SpinLab-ScaleUp-Award-7
  • 2026-10-01_Eric-Kemnitz_7398

Why SpinLab awards scaleups

Starting a company is not the hardest part in Germany. Growing it is. The ScaleUp Award puts the spotlight on companies that have mastered that stage.

“Many startups are founded in Central Germany. The bottleneck is the growth phase: anyone who wants to scale needs customers, capital and experienced partners at the same time. Sunfire and CargoBeamer show what is possible when that succeeds. Our goal is for such successes to become the rule.”
Dr. Marcus Haberstroh, Managing Director of SpinLab Group