The Herford-based start-up Lichtwart has won a prestigious award in the real estate industry – bringing victory not to Berlin or Munich, but to East Westphalia-Lippe. With its IoT platform, the company saves up to 60% energy and reduces CO₂ emissions in petrol stations, among other places. When it was founded, Lichtwart was supported by the Bielefeld-based Founders Foundation, which builds up regional start-ups.
Herford/Frankfurt am Main, September 17, 2025 – Lichtwart GmbH, a young technology company from Herford, won two awards at the PropTech Germany Awards 2025. This is the most prestigious start-up award in the real estate industry. In Frankfurt am Main, the team led by founder Johannes Mailänder from Bünde was not only named the winner in the “Smart Building Efficiency” category, but also prevailed against 216 competitors from Europe and was named the overall winner of the prestigious award.
Lichtwart impressed the 50-member expert jury with an intelligent IoT platform that automatically controls lighting, energy, and building technology. The result: massive cost savings, lower CO₂ emissions, and a significant reduction in workload for staff.
A founder from Bünde with a bright vision
Behind the success are the passionate founders Johannes Mailänder and Gregor Giataganas, whose roots are deeply anchored in the region and the industry. Mailänder’s great-grandfather founded a lighting technology company 80 years ago. And for Mailänder, it’s still about light today, just in a different form:
Many buildings, especially gas stations, are lit up around the clock and consume enormous amounts of electricity. At the same time, they are struggling with a shortage of skilled technical personnel. The Herford-based solution addresses both issues: an intelligent box the size of a pound of butter automatically reduces lighting and other energy consumption when not in use, saving up to 60% in energy costs and protecting insects and the environment. At the same time, staff can monitor all technical systems via a dashboard and are immediately notified in the event of malfunctions.
The jury praised this practical approach. Annelie Casper, deputy managing director of GEFMA – German Association for Facility Management, says: “Start-ups like Lichtwart know where the future lies. Existing buildings offer enormous potential: with data-driven solutions, savings of up to 60% are possible.”
Founder in blue gas station overalls causes a stir
At events such as the competition final, Johannes Mailänder is hard to miss:
He consistently wears his blue gas station attendant’s overalls, combined with futuristic glowing glasses. At first glance, this seems unusual, but there is a clear strategy behind this appearance.
“The overalls are also a tribute to my roots,” explains Mailänder. “My grandfather had a company for illuminated advertising in Bünde and still worked at a time when service and craftsmanship were visible and highly valued – so the gas station attendant was a kind of host and good soul on site. I want to transfer this image to the present: Today, we take care of building technology for gas stations, among other things – only digitally and smartly networked.”
The glowing glasses, on the other hand, represent the future: “I want everyone to recognize immediately that we are doing something special and seeing something that others may not yet be able to see – potential savings that will make the Milky Way visible again! That’s why the glow is simply part of it.”
About Lichtwart GmbH
Lichtwart GmbH, based in Herford, develops and operates an automated service platform for sustainable lighting, energy, and building management. The system enables the reduction of operating costs, more efficient troubleshooting, and the automated collection of sustainability data (ESG). The company’s mission is to reduce light pollution through intelligent lighting control and thus “make the Milky Way visible again.” Well-known customers of the start-up include Hanse Merkur, battery manufacturer Varta, and Hoyer gas stations.
Lichtwart was founded in 2020 by Gregor Giataganas and Johannes Mailänder. The two founders participated in the accelerator program of the Founders Foundation, a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann Foundation, in Bielefeld in 2023. There they met their third co-founder, Relayr co-founder Jackson Bond, who joined Lichtwart in 2024, completing the founding team.
