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Story 22 April 2020
Public

Stories: 3 EIC Green Innovations to celebrate Earth Day

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Joana Moreira

22 April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the annual celebration of the environmental movement. According to the official Earth Day site, the theme for this year's Earth Day is climate action. The mission is to encourage individuals and organisations around the world to continue moving towards innovation to face the climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future. But while this day is a 24-h celebration, many start-ups spend the entire year going green, with innovating projects to accomplish this goal. Discover here 3 EIC Green Innovations that are doing their part to honour Earth Day every day. 

 

Circular economy for plastics

Recycling Technologies Ltd is a UK-based company turning plastic at the end of life into a more sustainable material. The EIC-funded company has invented the RT7000, a modular machine to increase plastic recycling rates, reduce costs and meet customers’ environmental commitments. The RT7000 utilises advanced thermal cracking technology to convert residual plastic waste into Plaxx - a recycled oil which can be used as feedstock in the production of new plastic. 

This month, the company signed an initial agreement for the first European plastic chemical recycling site at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the Netherlands to showcase, test and deploy its technology throughout Europe. The company already has a commercial-scale plant in development in Perth, Scotland, partly funded from a €10m investment from Neste and Mirova and a grant from Zero Waste Scotland.

 

Rechargeable batteries to power the future

Electric vehicles have the largest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. Addionics, an Israeli/U.K. start-up, is developing rechargeable batteries through intelligent 3D battery architecture and engineering for electric vehicles and other applications. With a novel 3D metal fabrication method, the company enhances performance, mileage, safety, cost and charging time of batteries. 

This month, the EIC-funded company has raised $6 million in funding. The Series A round is led by Next Gear Ventures and includes a $2.5 million grant as part of the European Innovation Council. The company is initially targeting the automotive market, but also sees its technology finding a place in other products such as consumer electronics, medical devices, grid energy storage, drones, etc. The company is building an all-battery powered future that can live longer and generate less waste.

 

Creating electricity from plants 

Bioo developed a technology dedicated to generating electricity from nature, without damaging it. Founded in 2015 and operated by Arkyne Technologies S.L, Bioo is producing electricity from plant's photosynthesis. The technology uses the microorganisms present on soil, which divide matter to release electrons. Other developments include the use of plants as biological antennas and switches. The company is exploring the concept of treating a live plant as a solar panel, extracting energy without harming the plant, simply by using resources that it no longer needs.  

The Spanish company plans to implement this technology across the world, starting with small products such Bioo Pass - a plant pot that allows accessing a WiFi network without a password or Bioo Ed kit  - a technology that helps school children build their own biological batteries to create electricity from plants and light up LEDs. This month, Bioo announced the completion of a €500k capital investment round. The funding was raised via an equity crowdfunding campaign on SociosInversores and included a contribution from Archipelago Next and WA4STEAM. 

 

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.

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