The top 5 start-ups at Cleantech Forum Europe
The Cleantech Forum Europe 2016, which was held in Lyon this year, closed its doors for the final time for this year on the evening of April the 13th. The aim of the Cleantech Forum is to bring together start-ups, investors and large groups under the same roof for a few days so that they can meet to develop, discuss and complete projects. It is a perfect opportunity for startups to introduce themselves to the public and to do their best to convince potential investors and raise funds. This year’s event was an unqualified success and here is our selection of the top 5 startups present at the forum:
- Hydrao – The intelligent and connected shower
In fifth place in our list is Hydrao, the showerhead that saves water via a coloured light which indicates the amount of water that has been consumed during the shower .
Hydrao is a mobile application which can also collect and access data and is a product to keep an eye on, since it could well change our consumption habits.
- Smartbin – The refuse collection sensor
Staying with the Internet of Things (IoT), the Irish company SmartBin has developed a system consisting of a sensor and a mobile application designed to optimize waste collection.
The sensor, which is placed at the bottom of the bin or container, is capable of measuring how full the container is and will also plot the optimum route to the nearest waste collection point, thereby saving on fuel, manpower and time.
- Glowee – Lighting up the world via the sea
In third place on our podium is the young start-up Glowee who presented an extremely innovative and valuable solution. Inspired by the light emitted by marine organisms, Glowee have developed a natural lighting system which requires no infrastructure and is ecologically beneficial to boot.
The solution can take any shape or form and can be installed without being connected to the network. The solution is certain to have many different and interesting uses and the product will undoubtedly have a bright future upon release.
- Reduse – the unprinted word
Who has never dreamed of rewriting history? This may now be possible with the latest technology which can remove ink from a sheet of paper for reuse.
This is the solution proposed by the British company Reduse and its unprinter, a machine capable of removing ink using laser technology. The company claim that their solution will reduce costs by 40%, lower CO2 emissions from paper recycling, which emits more CO2 than paper production, and perhaps even result in a special form of unprintable paper!
- Electroad – the future of public transport?
There was a lot of choice, but for us the star of the show was (almost) without question Electroad, a project that could well revolutionize urban transport in the coming years.
The idea is to transmit energy to a wireless, electric bus via the road through transmitters connected to the power grid and a receiver that delivers energy from the ground to the engine. The system is quick and easy to install, and provides a very economical alternative to existing solutions as it is expected to cost 70% less than diesel fuelled teansport and 50% less than power produced by batteries. In an emergency situation, the bus is still capable of travelling for 25 kilometres without being connected to a power source.
Honourable mentions
The standard of project presented at the forum meant that competition for places in our top 5 was very high and honourable mentions must go to a number of projects, including Chakratec, a solution for batteries with unlimited charge cycles, Zenpark, the shared automated car park or Wair, an antipollution scarf designed especially for cyclists!
