10. May 2019
The Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3), a business-to-business collaborative that drives the commercial adoption of green chemistry, has announced the three winners of the GC3 Startup Network’s 4th Annual Technology Showcase.
The event was held at Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA) on May 7.
Through a competitive application process, 10 startup companies earned the opportunity to pitch their chemicals, materials, products, and manufacturing technologies to the audience of chemical manufacturers, formulators, brands, retailers, and investors at the Technology Showcase. Three of the 10 startups won the opportunity to pitch their solutions to a panel of business and technology experts on the main stage during the GC3 Innovators Roundtable on May 8. The panelists include Chris Killian, Vice President, Specialty Products Technology, Eastman; Al Iannuzzi, Vice President of Sustainability, Esteé Lauder Companies; Martin Mulvihill, General Partner, Safer Made; and Bryan Stubbert, Research Scientist, Dow.
The three winners, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
Akron Ascent Innovations
Akron Ascent Innovations has developed a new adhesive technology platform offering a unique combination of high strength, excellent removability and reusability on a wide range of surfaces. The nanofiber-based dry adhesive offers a number of sustainable advantages compared to conventional adhesives for the consumer market, as well as industrial, electronic, and medical sectors. www.AkronAscent.com
Colorifix Limited
Colorifix is committed to a more sustainable future for textiles and fashion. By engineering a revolutionary dyeing technology using synthetic biology, Colorifix converts agricultural byproducts into a wide range of colorants for textile dyeing, reducing the environmental impact of this sector in a cost-effective manner. www.colorifix.com
Visolis, Inc.
Visolis aims to displace petrochemicals with carbon negative materials by combining the best features of synthetic biology with chemical catalysis. Their platform molecules are produced from a variety of biomass feedstocks and create drop in replacements in industries like cosmetics, industrial solvents and plastics. www.visolisbio.com
The Technology Showcase is organized annually by the GC3 Startup Network, a program that fosters green chemistry entrepreneurship and accelerates the development of and market pull for green chemistry technologies. “GC3 members actively seek to offer products that are not only high-performing and cost-competitive, but also safe for people and the environment,” said Julie Manley, Coordinator of the GC3 Startup Network. Nearly 20 GC3 members – including Lowe’s, HP, Inc., Beiersdorf AG, Sherwin-Williams, and Eastman – contributed to a list of sustainable chemistry technology needs to help clarify priority areas.
Started in 2005, the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) is a business-to-business collaborative that drives the commercial adoption of green chemistry by catalyzing and guiding action across all industries, sectors and supply chains. Over 125 organizations are members of the GC3.