Karsten Hirsch I Plastic Fischer
2023-11-29
Double Triple for Circular Valley Startups
At the German Sustainability Award, three young companies were honored, supported by the Circular Valley. Three more startups from the Circular Economy Accelerator received awards from "The Spark," "Forbes," and in the Ruhr area.
Simply attending would have been something special on its own, but the award ceremony for the German Sustainability Award (Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis) with its numerous prominent guests was even more exceptional for the startups Plastic Fischer, Concular, and Madaster. The three won awards in the categories of "Sustainable Startups" and "Construction Industry." The Circular Valley initiative, which supported all three young companies in its accelerator program, celebrated with the trio.
To this first triple, a second triple success can be added. The startup Bioweg won "The Spark," the German Digital Award (Der Deutsche Digitalpreis). Omer Badokhon from BioTreasure was included in the "Forbes 30 under 30" list for the Middle East. And CyFract secured the first place in the "Xustainable Impact Batch" in Bochum. Bioweg, BioTreasure, and CyFract are also young companies selected by Circular Valley for its accelerator program to help them further develop their business models for the circular economy.
Circular Valley itself was founded in the summer of 2021, to significantly advance the circular economy through a broad network of established companies and scientific institutions, close collaboration with politics, and targeted support for more than 80 startups from around the world. The wider Rhine-Ruhr region is therefore becoming the Silicon Valley of the Circular Economy.
To this first triple, a second triple success can be added. The startup Bioweg won "The Spark," the German Digital Award (Der Deutsche Digitalpreis). Omer Badokhon from BioTreasure was included in the "Forbes 30 under 30" list for the Middle East. And CyFract secured the first place in the "Xustainable Impact Batch" in Bochum. Bioweg, BioTreasure, and CyFract are also young companies selected by Circular Valley for its accelerator program to help them further develop their business models for the circular economy.
Circular Valley itself was founded in the summer of 2021, to significantly advance the circular economy through a broad network of established companies and scientific institutions, close collaboration with politics, and targeted support for more than 80 startups from around the world. The wider Rhine-Ruhr region is therefore becoming the Silicon Valley of the Circular Economy.
Overview of the successful startups and their business models:
- Plastic FischerDeveloped floating nets to collect waste from rivers in India and Indonesia, preventing it from reaching the sea. The company's 70+ employees sort the plastic waste on-site to achieve optimal recycling. Partner companies from Germany and Europe financially support Plastic Fischer's work, resulting in over 1000 tons of plastic waste being collected from rivers. Plastic Fischer was founded in Solingen and is based in Cologne.
- ConcularBuilt a digital ecosystem for circular construction. The software captures materials in buildings that are being retrofitted or rebuilt. Through a 3D scan, Concular includes all details of the materials, such as dimensions, condition, material type, and manufacturer. Concular uses these data to create material passports, provide analyses of material lifespans, CO2 footprints of buildings, and to facilitate material transactions. Concular is based in Berlin.
- MadasterCreated a platform for building materials, allowing all materials used in a project to be inventoried and evaluated, including their environmental impact, CO2 assessment, and potential for reuse. Madaster gives project developers and property owners the opportunity to maximize material circulation. Madaster is based in Berlin.
- BiowegA scientifically based company that uses biotechnology, materials science, and machine learning to produce bio-based materials and ingredients. The startup's ingredients are animal- and GMO-free, globally scalable, and sustainably produced without the use of aggressive chemicals. Bioweg recently partnered with Bayer to develop biodegradable seed coatings. Bioweg plans to move from Lower Saxony to North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the partnership.
- BioTreasureDeveloped small and decentralized biogas plants. The system allows consumers to convert their organic waste into energy and organic fertilizer. BioTreasure was founded in Yemen.
- CyFractRepresents a significant development in dealing with very small particles. Extracting microparticles from water has traditionally required high energy consumption, and many filtration systems have weaknesses. CyFract rotates water to separate the tiny particles, requiring much less energy. The startup is based in Munich.
Further information
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Source: Jan Turek / Circular Valley
Source: Jan Turek / Circular Valley
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