At this year's Female Founders Award Ceremony on June 10, 2026, in Munich, the following founders earned the distinction of Honorable Mention:
- Stephanie Pfeil-Coenen, Co-Founder & CEO, Phaeosynt GmbH
- Lucie Toepfer, Co-Founder & CEO, pyropower GmbH
- Dr. Jana Maria Weinand, Co-Founder & CFO, leitspalt GmbH
Stephanie Pfeil-Coenen, Co-Founder & CEO, Phaeosynt GmbH
What makes your company stand out?
Phaeosynt is replacing one of the most overlooked components in diagnostics: antibodies. Today, almost all diagnostic antibodies are produced in animals or animal-derived cell cultures. We developed a patented technology that produces antibodies in microalgae instead. To prove the technology works in the real world, we launched the world's first animal-free pregnancy test, already available in retail stores across Germany and Austria.
How can Germany empower more women in entrepreneurship?
We need to make entrepreneurship more visible, more accessible and more compatible with family life. Many women don't lack talent or ambition. They lack role models, networks and access to capital. The more successful female founders we see on stages, in the media and around decision-making tables, the more entrepreneurship becomes a realistic path for the next generation.
Lucie Toepfer, Co-Founder & CEO, pyropower GmbH
What makes your company stand out?
pyropower GmbH develops innovative decentralized energy systems that convert biogenic residues into biochar, green electricity and usable heat. The company’s technology supports industrial companies, municipalities and agricultural stakeholders in reducing CO₂ emissions while creating economic value from residual biomass streams. By combining pyrolysis, energy generation and carbon removal in one integrated process, pyropower contributes to scalable decarbonization, regional value creation and a more resilient energy supply.
Dr. Jana Maria Weinand, Co-Founder & CFO, leitspalt GmbH
What makes your company stand out?
At leitspalt, we're building the core platform for next-generation battery packs. Battery cells are improving rapidly, pushing cell energy densities to new frontiers. Yet, the increasing heat they generate isinsufficiently managed. At leitspalt, we deliver the thermal architecture layer based on an aerospace-inspired cooling structure. The structure integrates cooling, inner frame and cell holding into one multifunctional component, reducing complexity, weight and cost while enabling safer, more efficient battery systems.
How can Germany empower more women in entrepreneurship?
Female entrepreneurship doesn't fail on talent. It fails when talent lacks networks, visibility and access to capital. If you don't see role models, you underestimate what is possible. If you're not in the room, you're less likely to get funded. And if you don't get funded, you remain less visible.
Germany has the talent. Now it needs the structures to unlock it: strong investor and founder networks (general and industry-specific), role models who are visible and within reach, and communities that connect founders to real investment opportunities.
