The Vorarlberg specialist for environmental measurement technology Sommer GmbH was honored for its special innovative strength with a nomination for the special VERENA award during the presentation of the Austrian State Prize for Innovation in the Aula of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna. Among 510 projects submitted nationwide, Sommer Messtechnik convinced with its product innovation "Snow Pack Analyser" (SPA). "More than ten years of development work have gone into our SPA system, which is rewarded today with this nomination," says owner and managing director Wolfram Sommer, delighted about the great award. The State Prize for Innovation is awarded by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy.
SPA sensor analyzes snow cover Sommer Messtechnik has many years of experience in environmental measurement technology and in dealing with high-alpine, robust weather stations or, for example, special sensor technology in the areas of runoff measurement and snow measurement. The SPA system, which has now been awarded the state prize, determines the proportions of liquid water, ice and air in the snowpack. A band sensor identifies the different electrical capacitances of these substances at different measuring frequencies. Aspects such as snowmelt or avalanche danger can thus be predicted even more reliably. The question of how much water is stored in the snow and when it is expected to run off, which is important for meteorology, municipal services or power plant operators, for example, can thus be answered better. The scientific partner, the Swedish Department for Land and Water Resources Engineering of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, provided valuable input in the research work. The State Prize for Innovation and the two special prizes VERENA and ECONOVIUS reward special innovative achievements; novelty, benefits, effects on the market, economic effects as well as ecology are evaluated.