Sustainability Collider & Tech4Regen Ceremony

— Confronting Challenges in Materials Innovation and Circularity for Industries
Date
Mon
25
Nov 2024
Location
📍 EPFL — Rolex Forum

Co-organized by the Vice Presidency for Responsible Transformation (VPT) and EPFL’s Innovation Park “Tech4Regen” startup accelerator, this forum serves as a platform for dialogue between EPFL research labs, startups from its innovation ecosystem, industries active in materials production or processing into products, and governmental agencies.

Next up, Tech4Regen and its partners will present the program’s startups and their contribution to the regenerative economy, as well as launch a new call for applications!

The event will conclude by a cocktail dinner and startups & labs poster exhibition, providing an opportunity for participants to network.


Event Agenda

👉

PROGRAM

13:00 - 13:10 | Introduction
• Prof. Véronique Michaud, Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites
• Prof. Tiffany Abitbol, Sustainable Materials Laboratory

13:10 - 13:20 | Sustainability in research at EPFL
• Prof. Gisou van der Goot, Vice President for Responsible Transformation, EPFL

13:20 - 13:30 | Instruments offered by EPFL and the EPFL Innovation Park to promote innovation from labs to industries
• Dr. Ursula Oesterle, Vice President for Innovation, EPFL

Session I | NEW MATERIALS AND SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PETROCHEMICAL-BASED PLASTICS AND COMPOSITES

13:30 - 13:55 | Short presentations (10’ EPFL, 10’ Industry, 5’ Startup)
• Dr. Simonetta Rima, Global Head Bio-based Solutions, SULZER
• Prof. Francesco Stellacci, Supramolecular Nano-Materials and Interfaces Laboratory
• Dr. Philip Scholten, Chief Innovation Officer, Bloom Biorenewables

13:55 - 14:10 | Panel discussion
Moderator: Dr. Pascale Van Landuyt, Head of Alliance program, Vice-Presidency for Innovation, EPFL

Session II | CIRCULARITY OF MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS

14:10 - 14:45 | Short presentations (10’ EPFL, 2x10’ Industry, 2x5’ Startups)
• Dr. Sergio Barbarino, Senior Director, Fabric & Home Care Open Innovation, P&G
• Pierre Gérard, Technical Director Elium Program, Arkema
• Prof. Véronique Michaud, Head of the Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites
• Dr. Pascal Gallo, CSO & Co-founder, Composite Recycling
• Rajiv Singhal, Founder & CEO, Grensol

14:45 - 15:00 | Panel discussion
Moderator: Dr. Martyn Wakeman, Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites, EPFL

15:00 - 15:30 | COFFEE BREAK

Session III | GREENER INDUSTRIAL FABRICATION PROCESSES (AND SUPPLY CHAINS)

15:30 - 16:00 | Short presentations (10’ EPFL, 10’ Industry, 2x5’ Startup)
• Dr. Olivier Enger, Technology Scouting & Incubation, BASF
• Prof. François Maréchal, Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering Group, EPFL Valais
• Dr. Markus Aicheler, CEO & Co-founder, SolidWatts
• Dr. Rafael Castro-Amoedo, CEO & Co-founder, Emissium
• Dr. Amin Kaboli, Chief Product Officer, Lagrange.ai

16:00 - 16:15 | Panel discussion
Moderator: Prof. Manuele Margni, Institute of Sustainable Energy, HES-SO Valais

Ꝏ TECH4REGEN PROGRAM - 2024 CEREMONY


16:15 - 16:25 | Introductions by Canton de Vaud (SPEI)

16:25 - 16:35 | Keynote presentation by Tech4Regen: adapting industries to the regenerative economy; why and how?

16:35 - 16:45 | Sustainability Challenges in the CONSUMER ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY: presentations by Logitech

16:45 - 17:00 | Technologies for the ENERGY TRANSITION: presentations by Romande Energie and Startups

17:00 - 17:15 | Technologies for BIODIVERSITY & AGRICULTURE: presentations by Fondation Valery and Startups

17:15 - 17:45 | Prize Awards, Herbert and Audrey Rosenfield Innovation Prize, Tech4Regen 2025 focus areas, and call for applications

17:45 - 19:30 | NETWORKING COCKTAIL DINNER AND STARTUPS EXHIBITION

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Startups Exhibition

(with poster/booth numbers)

CIRCULAR ECONOMY & INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
S1. Grensol

Recycling what is usually incinerated and landfilled

S2. Composite Recycling

Recycle composite material waste into saleable products

S3. SolidWatts

Advanced microwave and radio frequency heating for industrial processes, replacing fossil fuels

S4. LaGrange.ai

Leverage AI for resilient & sustainable supply chain networks

REGENERATIVE SOURCING & AGRICULTURE
S5. GaiaTech

Extracts useful bio-compounds from agricultural waste and resell them to the cosmetics and food industries

S6. Biomede

Maps pollutants in soils and naturally remove them using plants so-called hyperaccumulation to regenerate soils

S7. Databaum

AI-based disease prediction tool helping farmers to secure yields, harvest quality and save on pesticides.

BIODIVERSITY & BIOLOGICAL CARBON CAPTURE
S8. Synature

Bioacoustics technology and AI to improve biodiversity monitoring and aid conservation projects

S9. Space4Good

Unlock, accelerate and scale nature protection and regeneration through reliable earth observation insights

S10. Open Forest Protocol

Blockchain-based platform democratizing carbon credit markets for forest projects globally, ensuring transparency and integrity

S11. Inverto Earth

Helps businesses to become nature positive by restoring coastlines by leveraging innovative robotics and AI

CARBON-FREE RENEWABLE ENERGY
S12. Neology

Revolutionizing Hydrogen Supply with decentralized and clean Ammonia Cracking

S13. Voltiris

Combine high-tech glass greenhouses surfaces with renewable energy production

S14. SoHHytec

Co-generation systems for the cost-effective onsite generation of renewable fuel (hydrogen +oxygen) and Power (electricity+ heat)

S15. Planeto

Digitalise the design of district heating and cooling (DHC) networks, using machine learning to accelerate the energy transition.

S16. Emissium

Tracks, benchmarks, monitors and reduces electricity emissions.

S17. Swistor

Eco-friendly, ultra-fast charging devices combining high energy storage with high-power delivery.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poster Exhibition Research projects

P1. Reimagining Chemical Manufacturing: High-Value Chemical Products from Biomass

Laboratory of Organometallic and Medicinal Chemistry

P2. Simplifying the production of polymers from plants

Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing

P3. Stimuli-responsive nano fertilizer for a sustainable agriculture

Polymers Laboratory

P4. Glyoxylic Acid (GA)-Lignin Barrier Coatings for Paper-Based Food Packaging Applications

Polymers Laboratory

P5. The role of process integration in the decarbonization of aluminium industry and the urban district heating

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P6. Renewable energy integration and waste heat valorization in aluminum remelting for co-producing kerosene and methanol

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P7. A web-based decision support tool for the design and integration of industrial high-temperature heat pumps

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P8. Sustainable Biofuels Via Biomass Gasification Towards Fossil-Free Aluminium Production

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P9. Integration of renewable energy and reversible solid oxide cells towards decarbonizing the secondary aluminium production and urban systems

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P10. Integration of Life Cycle Impact Assessment in Energy System Modelling

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P11. Continuing education program: process engineering for the decarbonization of the Swiss industry

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering

P12. Sustainable composites for structural applications

Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites

P13. Materials from fungal mycelium

Sustainable Materials Laboratory

P14. Packaging materials: Exploring the versatile properties of soy waste okara

Sustainable Materials Laboratory & Supramolecular Nano-Materials and Interfaces Laboratory

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