At the beginning of 2021, INAM and Continental launched an Open Innovation Challenge for Sutainable Materials Solutions. The brief challenged startups and researchers to develop solutions based on rubber and plastics for fluid lines in automotive applications.
And after a number of applications and a thorough selection process, Continental has announced the winners of the challenge!
Here they are:
Heartland Industries from the US
They are creating a reliable supply chain of carbon-negative hemp materials. By infusing hemp into raw materials, it allows to make lighter, cheaper, and more sustainable end products.
Performance BioFilaments from Canada
They transform wood pulp into Nano fibrillated Cellulose (NFC) with a chemical-free refining process. The integration of NFC results in lighter-weight and more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Syntoil from Poland
They transform contaminated soot from waste tires into recovered Carbon Black. The result is a limitation of the use of fossil fuels, waste, and carbon dioxide emission.
Laska Technology from Turkey
They upcycle end-of-life tires with innovative, eco-friendly as well as sustainable approaches and bring them into the economy as energy and raw material.
Continental will now start separate projects with each of these teams and share the progress on their website.
Congratulations to all of the teams and INAM looks forward to seeing the results of these collaborations!
To learn more about INAM's Open Innovation Challenges, visit www.inam.berlin/open-innovation-challenges