Giulia Benedetti (Future Materials Bank), Man Yong Toh (Aeroborn), and Billy Kuper (Closist) will compete for the sixth Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award on Oct. 10 at the Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus. After the first selection round, the professional jury, led by Maurits Groen, chose the three finalists from the six nominees.
The Award was created in 2017 to honor sustainability pioneer and polar explorer Marc Cornelissen. He lost his life during one of his expeditions to the North Pole, where he researched the effects of climate change. The Award has since grown into a prestigious award. It is supported and financed by initiator Brightlands and 16 partners from business, non-profit, and the (Limburg) government.
Network
After an intensive and critical pitch session at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen, the choice fell on the three entrepreneurs, each with an elaborate idea in sustainability and circularity. The winner will receive €35,000, which is not the only reward. “The network behind the Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award is invaluable,” knows Man Yong Toh of Aeroborn from Rotterdam, one of the finalists, after the exciting pitch session. “We have developed a technology that converts CO2 into raw material for various products. Pure chemistry, in other words, is the domain of Brightlands in Geleen. A knowledge center that we are very keen to join. Through this competition that becomes easier, especially now that we have made it to the finals.”
Ecosystem
Finalist Giulia Benedetti points to Brightlands’ ecosystem. “With our Future Materials Bank, we already have the necessary contacts on the Sittard-Geleen campus,” she says. “There we can go with our questions in materials and circularity. We have tests done there and deposit research projects at CHILL, the labs where researchers, entrepreneurs, and students look at concrete issues. We know the value, but with €35,000, we can hire even more experts and roll out our concept internationally. So yes, we are delighted to have made it to the finals. We’re going to do our best to win.”
Future Materials
Giulia Bellinetti, born Italian and graduated in Venice and Amsterdam, works for the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht, where, among other things, she coordinates the Future Materials program. “A hybrid platform focused on spreading knowledge and use of waste and sustainable materials by artists, designers, and other creative practitioners worldwide,” she explained during her afternoon pitch. “We are committed to circularity, permanent reuse. Stuff from hair, concrete waste, sawdust, urine, you name it. We’ve been building for over three years; it’s time for a business model. With the cash prize, we can make a start.”
Varied pitches
This year’s sixth edition of the award produced a diverse palette of sustainable and circular ideas submitted by start-ups and established companies. Among the latter category and making it into the top six, for example, is DarwinG4, a company that has developed a technology to detect leaks in oil and water pipelines. The idea does not make it to the finals despite Michael Pieneman’s impassioned presentation (“billions and billions of gallons of oil and water are lost annually due to leaks”). Man Yong Toh of Aeroborn may cheer, however. ‘We have an alternative to Carbon Black, a residual product from oil used in tires, cables and concrete. CO2 is an excellent substitute especially if you capture that from polluting industry. Three times gain: no CO2 in the air, no need to store it, and you can replace another polluting substance with it.
Waste
The third final spot was eventually reserved for Billy Kuper, the young Thai-born entrepreneur who studied AI in Maastricht and wants to tackle waste in the textile industry with Closist. He thinks he can get the general public to buy less clothing and reuse or repair more with various apps. “Every year, the textile industry uses 200 billion liters of water, 40 billion kilograms of raw materials, and 500 billion KW of energy. Three out of five garments end up virtually unused in landfills. I saw them in my native country, the tens of meters high textile mountains. I have worked in the factories where the cheap clothes are made. And later so discarded. That has to change. If I win the award, I can further develop the apps to combat waste. That’s my dream.”
Related Posts
