German start-up in global demand with anti-coronavirus escalators

Tanja Nickel and Katharina Obladen were still in high school when they patented an idea to disinfect escalator handrails using UV light.

A decade later, their small German start-up UVIS can barely keep up with orders from around the world for their coronavirus-killing escalators and coatings for supermarket trolleys and elevator buttons.

Working student Leon Rottmann and Katharina Obladen (R) stand at the mechanic's workshop of the Startup UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions in Cologne.

Leon Rottmann coats a shopping trolley for disinfection at the mechanic's workshop of the Startup UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions in Cologne.

Inspired by New York City's use of ultraviolet radiation to sterilise drinking water, they designed a UV light box that can be built into escalators to disinfect handrails, with the radiation destroying the DNA of disease-causing micro-organisms.

After finishing university, the pair founded UVIS in 2016 with seed money from programmes for start-ups. They remain a rare example in Germany of women running an engineering firm.

This year, the duo added an antimicrobial coating to their line-up, not based on UV technology. The invisible coating can be sprayed onto surfaces to destroy mould, bacteria and viruses like the novel coronavirus, using the self-cleaning properties of titanium dioxide.

As Germany begins to relax some lockdown restrictions, the start-up's five-person team has been inundated with requests from shops, offices and cafes eager to reopen to a public newly aware of the health risks lurking in shared spaces.

Leon Rottmann solds an electronic part at the mechanic's workshop.

Leon Rottmann cleans a shopping trolley for disinfection at the mechanic's workshop of the Startup UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions in Cologne.