In 2025, the Technical University of Ingolstadt, in cooperation with the Audi Environmental Foundation, once again awarded the THI Sustainability Award as part of the graduation ceremony. This year, Sophia Döpke received the prize of 1,000 euros for outstanding theses in the field of sustainability and environmental protection. In her bachelor's thesis, Sophia addressed an important topic: mobility practices in Neuburg an der Donau. Using a practice-theoretical approach and a combination of quantitative surveys and expert interviews, she analysed how different forms of mobility are anchored in everyday life and which factors influence their use. Her results clearly show that while the car is firmly established in the mobility behaviour of many people, the bus has so far played a smaller role. At the same time, the study provides valuable starting points on how sustainable mobility services can be made more attractive and can be better integrated into everyday life. During the award ceremony, Dr. Rüdiger Recknagel, Managing Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation, paid tribute to Sophia’s important contribution to sustainable mobility. 

In 2024, the Technical University of Ingolstadt, together with the Audi Environmental Foundation, once again honored the best thesis on the topic of sustainability and environmental protection. Tobias Reissig received the THI Sustainability Award as part of the university's graduation ceremony. His work addresses a highly topical issue in the field of application of electric construction machinery. For use on the construction site, it is essential that the battery management system functions reliably, and precise information about the state of health and state of charge is particularly important. This is where Tobias Reissig's research comes in: Through thorough analysis of existing estimation methods and the development of innovative methodological approaches, it is possible to significantly improve the accuracy and robustness of such systems. The jury particularly praised the methodological stringency, the scientific depth and the successful combination of theoretical modelling and practical validation. The work is thus doing pioneering work in an area that is of central importance for future CO₂ reduction. Rüdiger Recknagel, representing the Audi Environmental Foundation, paid tribute to this outstanding achievement with an appreciative laudatory speech. 

In 2023, the Audi Environmental Foundation once again honored the best final thesis at the THI on the topic of sustainability with 1,000 euros. The winner was Fabian Fottner, who researched sustainable plant growth protective covers in his bachelor's thesis. The prize was awarded as part of the university's 2023 graduation ceremony at the Congress Centrum Ingolstadt. Fottner, who studied Technical Design, dedicated his thesis to the topic of "Growth without risk - effectively protecting forest and young plants by developing a new protection system". In it, he covers the entire development process: from the initial idea through several design trials to prototyping. Fottner then tested promising models on approximately two-year-old young forest trees. Based on the results of the practical tests, he further developed his product. His research on the growth sleeve protection systems has direct practical relevance and represents a cost-effective and ecological alternative to the plastic protective sleeves previously used. Dr. Rüdiger Recknagel, Managing Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation, paid tribute to this outstanding commitment to active environmental protection in a laudatory speech.

The Audi Environmental Foundation presented the THI Sustainability Award for the second time in 2022. Kathrin Baumann, a student of procurement management, was honored for her work on the evaluation of EU sustainability sanctions. Under the title "Analysis of violations of sustainability chapters in the EU's international trade agreements", Kathrin Baumann developed a model for evaluating sustainability sanctions in her master's thesis. She then applied this to important imported goods in the EU as an example. With the help of the model, trade relations between companies can be made more transparent and secure. The Audi Environmental Foundation is proud to promote the talent of young academic researchers in the region and to present the THI Sustainability Award each year.

In 2021, the Audi Environmental Foundation awarded a sustainability prize at Ingolstadt University of Technology for the first time for the best final thesis in the field of sustainability and environmental protection. The award ceremony took place as part of the THI's Academic Celebration, where only a few guests were able to attend due to the pandemic. Most students were able to watch the hybrid event via livestream. In his bachelor's thesis, prizewinner Roman Schiebel dealt with the modeling and simulation of a plus-energy apartment building. He developed a calculation model that uses artificial intelligence to contribute to a sustainable energy concept for new buildings. "The building sector accounts for around a third of total energy consumption in Germany," says Roman Schiebel. "In order to achieve our climate targets, it is therefore extremely important to find solutions for greater sustainability in this area. With my Bachelor's thesis, I would like to help take a further step in this direction." With this newly created prize from the THI, the Audi Environmental Foundation aims to support young scientists at the Ingolstadt site.