Two German Innovation Awards for the AELUS from Rolfhartge

• Effective protection against viruses, bacteria and fine dust through HEPA H13 filters and patented photo catalysis sluice.
• Handy air cleaner for the vehicle interior.
• Tested cleaning performance in a smart design

Even before its market launch, the Rolfhartge AELUS mobile air purifier has already won several awards: Hot on the heels of the two prizes it recently won from the internationally renowned Red Dot Award, AELUS has now received two German Innovation Awards. These awards specifically recognise cross-industry products and solutions that advance user focus and added value.

Weighing just 880 grams, the AELUS unit is significantly lighter than the 1,000g limit set by the Federal Environment Agency for vehicle occupant protection in the event of an accident. Featuring a HEPA H13 filter and the first ever patented automobile specific photo catalysis sluice with UV-A / UV-C LEDs and a titanium dioxide coated filter fleece, AELUS also meets the Agency standard that mandates cleaning the air in an average vehicle cabin five to six times an hour.

The jury of the German Innovation Award recognises this achievement in two categories: “Excellence in Business to Consumer – Medical & Health” and “Excellence in Business to Business – Automotive Technologies.”

The arrival of the Rolfhartge AELUS air purifier is timely. Apart from the current pandemic and virus-laden aerosols, air pollution is one of the greatest clear and present health risks in cities in Europe and elsewhere. According to OECD studies, airborne particulates in city centres could even double by 2030, and the smaller the particles, the greater the health risk. This prognosis is confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which says that fine particle air pollution should be as low as possible.

Renowned for his forward thinking, Rolf Hartge has already developed a solution for vehicle interiors. “People want to feel comfortable and secure in their cars, but there is more to this than just a good crash safety test,” says Hendrik Hartge, Managing Director of Rolfhartge GmbH. “Recognising this, our team of automotive and medical experts developed a state-of-the-art air purifier for the vehicle interior that best protects passengers from airborne pollutants and pathogens such as viruses. Health is the greatest luxury, especially in these times!"

It is noteworthy that the team recognised and addressed the clean air issue long before the coronavirus pandemic. In fact the first working prototype was ready in early 2019, allowing Rolfhartge GmbH to take first place at the CSITF technology fair in Shanghai in April of that year.

Family, friends, employees and customers – the AELUS air purifier protects them all!

Compact and user-friendly, the AELUS unit can be quickly installed in and removed from a vehicle and transferred to the bedroom, hotel or office where it is powered by the AC/DC adaptor supplied. Ensuring better air quality wherever it is needed, the versatile AELUS was designed for today’s busy people on the move.

“A major challenge lay in designing and engineering a compact, lightweight unit that does not impair passenger safety in the event of a collision,” says Rolf Hartge. “This had to be balanced against making the unit powerful enough to provide an efficient cleaning effect." The AELUS was developed in close cooperation with the renowned automotive supplier, Dr. Schneider Group of companies whose patented photocatalysis technology is the core of the product.

“The automobile is well on its way to being our third living space. We are the first to seamlessly merge health technology with design, style and exclusivity for vehicle interiors, ”says Hendrik Hartge. “In doing so we have created a new interpretation of luxury – smart luxury, which we define as luxury with innovative additional benefits. The time is ripe for a paradigm shift to meet the needs of today’s well-educated and demanding customers. For us, this is both a challenge and an incentive.".

Background:

Air cleaning takes place in two stages:

• HEPA H13 filters with a high degree of separation for the finest particles remove pollen, bacteria, viruses, fungal spores, fine dust and aerosols – more than 99.98 percent of particles down to 0.3 micrometers. The HEPA filter is DIN EN1822 certified, and filters of this class are used in clean rooms and medical facilities.
• The patented photocatalysis sluice from the Dr. Schneider Group of companies is based on its PureVent technology that uses UV-A and UV-C LEDs in conjunction with a titanium dioxide-coated, self-cleaning filter fleece. The virus-destroying effect of the photo catalysis sluice has been confirmed by HygCen Germany GmbH, the accredited test laboratory in Schwerin.
• Cleaning the air in an average vehicle cabin five to six times per hour, the AELUS complies with the recommendations of the Federal Environment Agency for the efficient control of SARS-CoV-2 indoors, and thus represents a valuable addition to standard precautionary measures.

About the German Innovation Award:

An award that makes innovation visible, the German Innovation Award recognises cross-industry products and solutions that significantly further user focus and added value. Because innovations that shape the future and improve life exist in all industries, sometimes you can see them at first glance, but more often not. The German Innovation Award aims to change that by making significant achievements visible to a wider audience, thus helping them achieve successful market positioning.