
TUSTI (located in Twice hub Catalyst at TU/e Campus) and Ranmarine, 2 Dutch innovative scale-ups, have been selected with their innovations for the Green Deal call 2019 of EIC Accelerator. Together they will win support of € 5,2 million, with the aim to scale up the company and roll out their innovative products in the European or global markets.
In this special round, which was entirely focused on the Green Deal, a total of 2101 European applications were received, of which 122 were from the Netherlands. Of these, 5 Dutch SMEs were allowed to go through to the pitch round in Brussels. There they presented their company and innovation to a panel of scientists, investors and business people.
TUSTI and Ranmarine winners Green Deal call
TUSTI developed a technology to clean and separate highly contaminated mixtures of plastics into different fractions. In recent years this technology has been further optimized and tested in the lab and in practice. This subsidy will enable them to scale up the technology so that by 2022 they will be able to wash and separate 15,000 tonnes per year of currently non-recycled plastic packaging. These can then be used in high-quality applications, such as bottles. Truly circular. This will make it possible to meet the European Commission's ambitious targets and to recycle more and more plastic (packaging) waste, no matter how dirty it is.
Ranmarine's approach is to place a WasteShark-system in a specific waste rich area. In this area, a holistically networked swarm of WasteSharks must find and collect the waste and then deliver its 'catch' to the SharkPod. When the sharks are deployed in a known environment, they go directly to the largest concentration of debris based on information collected during previous missions. This approach increases the efficiency of the drones and enables existing and potential customers to become more efficient in collecting waste. Whether plastics and other non-biodegradable substances (solid waste), oils and chemicals (liquid waste), pest plants (harmful biomass) or a combination of these.
Check out all winners on the European Commission website.
RVO Support
The Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) supported these companies with advice on submitting, feedback on the proposals and sharpening and practicing the pitches. Dutch SMEs score well in the European innovation summit. Earlier this year, 15 Dutch scale-ups were allowed to go to Brussels, 9 entrepreneurs were awarded € 30 million.
TUSTI on the support by RVO:
"At an earlier stage, RVO has already read along with the proposal and provided feedback, which has really improved the proposal. During the preparation for the presentation and defence of the project for the EIC jury, RVO again provided constructive feedback, in a setting that strongly resembles the 'real' presentation. A very nice addition and a fresh look at our intensive trajectory to win this grant".
More information
Horizon 2020 is the European Commission's programme to stimulate European research and innovation. The Green Deal call within EIC Accelerator was a one-off. A new call will follow later this year, focusing on Green Deal collaboration projects.
Read more about Horizon 2020 EIC Accelerator or contact Team IRIS of RVO via e-mail teamiris@rvo.nl.