On 3 and 4 June 2020 the European Innovation Council (EIC) celebrated the launch of a brand-new initiative specifically focused on corporate engagement on the EU Green Deal: The EIC Planet.tech. With the support of the members of the EIC advisory board, Jim Snabe and Yousef Yousef, the EIC Planet.tech has brought together EIC-backed start-ups/scale-ups with four large corporates (AB InBev, DEME Group, Nestle and P&G) with the objective to develop a number of impactful Proof of Concepts (PoC).
During the past three months, the start-ups and corporates have been working hard, with several very promising results. During the R&I Days 2020, three Planet.tech joint initiatives were showcased and presented to the audience.
4FOLD Containers and P&G
4FOLD containers has developed a new shipping efficiency that saves space, time, money and our planet: a foldable shipping container that creates extra room on vessels, trucks, trains, terminals and depots. A smart piece of Dutch engineering that will help destroy empty transport miles worldwide. The current PoC with P&G entails that 8 foldable containers are explored, leaving from Tianjin (China) in the last week of September. The cargo will be shipped to Germany and the containers are recycled via Belgium, where the containers are loaded again for Cyprus and back to Belgium. P&G is eager to understand the early learnings of this test, and potential for eventual scaling.
Check the video on the 4FOLD Containers PoC with P&G here:
More info here.
Settlemint and AB InBev
SettleMint is a leading Blockchain Platform as a Service (BPaaS) company that has been selected by Gartner as a “Cool Vendor” for blockchain in enterprise and by Everest Group as a global “Trailblazer” in low-code platforms. SettleMint exists to abstract away the complexities of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies so that every developer can become a blockchain developer instantly. With their technology they can rapidly accelerate form a concept to an integrated business case and help AB InBev support their multiyear supply chain sustainability ambitions.
"AB InBev is aiming at 100% returnable or majority recycled packaging material by 2025 in line with the goals set out in the European GreenDeal. Through the EIC Planet.tech initiative, we aim to solve some of our major sustainability challenges in close collaboration with the best start-ups/scaleups curated by the EIC and our corporate partners", said Nicolas Verschelden from AB InBev.
Gr3n and Nestle
Gr3n is a high-tech company that has developed the first economically sustainable and industrially viable process for breaking down any type of PET and polyester plastic into its two core components (monomers), which can be then re-assembled to obtain virgin-like plastics allowing endless recycling loops. One thing is to create a technology, the other is to place the technology into the value chain. In this frame the collaboration with Nestle has proved fundamental. This PoC allows them to fit and place their technology directly in the value chain, giving them the possibility to test the material from the brand points of view, its in front of the consumer.
"Initiatives like EIC Planet.tech pave the way to companies like GR3N and Nestle to tackle the actual hurdles that developing and scaling up new technologies might face. This type of support enables bringing to life projects like this", added Cesar Velilla, Project Manager Nestle Waters.
EIC Advisory Board Members
The EIC Planet.tech Demo Day was under the patronage of Jim Snabe and Yousef Yousef, EIC Advisory Board Member. The latter, he himself a successful entrepreneur and owner of scaleup LG Sonic, shared three important tips for entrepreneurships and SMEs alike:
- Don’t be in love with your technology: As an innovator you are obviously very passionate about your technology, but don’t forget who pays for it. Be in love with your customer, ask them what they need and adapt. The large corporates will decide how great it your technology will be, not you.
- Don’t overpromise: You’re ambitious, you have high expectations of your product and turnover. But don’t overpromise to the end-user. Once you overpromise and underdeliver, it will be difficult your business. You only have one shot
- Don’t sell to everyone: Chose only one industrial user, until you get your launching customers. You have to say a lot of ‘no’. You will need someone to take your hand and lead it inside the corporate. And that’s what we do with the EIC Corporate Days.
Jim Snabe’s speech can be viewed here:
Over the course of the upcoming weeks we will be highlighting several more Planet.tech PoCs on the EIC Community. Stay tuned for more!
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.