Franziska Brantner Visits KIT Spin-Off Project Photreon

Green Party Leader Learns About Hydrogen Technologies and Research-Based Start-Ups
Franziska Brantner discussing with Vice President Hirth. Magali Hauser, KIT
Franziska Brantner, Federal Chair of Alliance 90/The Greens, together with Thomas Hirth, Vice President Transfer and International Affairs at KIT, at the KIT Campus North.
Group photo of the visit in front of a prototype of the photreon photoreactor panel at Campus North. Magali Hauser, KIT
The photreon team with Franziska Brantner; from left to right: Michael Rubin, Maren Cordts, Franziska Brantner, Paul Kant, Anselm Dreher, Prof. Roland Dittmeyer (Head of IMVT).

Franziska Brantner, Federal Chair of Alliance 90/The Greens and Member of the German Bundestag, visited Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Together with other representatives of her party, she sought information about promising research results from photreon, a KIT spin-off project based at the Institute for Micro Process Engineering (IMVT). The founding team has developed a technology that makes it possible to produce green hydrogen using nothing more than sunlight and water.

Together with Professor Thomas Hirth, KIT Vice President Transfer and International Affairs, Karlsruhe Member of the Bundestag Dr. Zoe Mayer, Professor Roland Dittmeyer, Head of IMVT, as well as other researchers and guests, Brantner discussed with the photreon team both the technology's potential and the framework conditions for research-based spin-offs.

Green Hydrogen Produced Directly from Sunlight

Photreon recently unveiled a prototype photoreactor panel that uses sunlight to split water directly into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike conventional processes, it requires neither a photovoltaic system nor an electrolyzer. The spin-off project is now further developing the technology with the aim of achieving cost-effective mass production and making the production of green hydrogen simpler, more efficient, and more economical.

During the discussions, Brantner was particularly interested in the support and structures a young company needs to transform a promising research idea into a marketable product, establish technological leadership, and ensure that value creation and manufacturing remain in Germany over the long term.

mhe, July 24, 2026