The International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3), Bonn, Germany, has announced the finalists for its Innovation Challenge. The winner of the competition, whose theme is “Sustainable Building and Living, will receive €25,000 (≈$30,000).
An international panel of judges assessed 47 entries from 15 countries, and chose five finalists:
• EcoAct Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for energy-conserving technology that transforms post-consumer plastic garbage and packaging materials into durable plastic timbers;
• Ecovon, Accra, Ghana for developing a formaldehyde-free, bio-based renewable wood alternative made from coconut husk and sugar cane bagasse;
• Glassolina, Cairo, Egypt, for its route to convert wood and plastic waste into composite sheets with superior properties that also can reduce the carbon footprint of buildings;
• The Reuse Design Laboratory, Pullman, Wash., for developing a lightweight, isolative masonry block system containing up to 90% recycled drywall waste; and
• Zila Works, Renton, Wash., for inventing a BPA-free epoxy resin made from industrial hemp that’s suitable for composites, coatings and other industrial applications.
Access more details about the five finalists here.
ISC3 will announce the winner in late October at its Investor Forum and Innovation Showcase (https://www.isc3.org/en/activities/innovation/2020-investor-forum.html).
ISC3 was founded in 2017 by German government agencies, and is an independent international body focused on promoting and developing sustainable chemistry.
