Results of Call4Circular | Circular products and materials
The Call4Circular | Circular products and materials promoted by the Iren Group in the context of the Iren Startup Award in collaboration with the Circular Economy Lab - a project of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and Cariplo Factory – has sparked lot of interest: numerous startups and innovative SMEs have applied from Italy (55%), from all over Europe (Great Britain 5%, Germany 5%, Luxembourg 5%, Netherlands 5% and Sweden 10%) and from the world (Israel 5%, Asia and Oceania 10%) with the aim of developing circular open innovation projects in the context of the Group’s business activities, coherently with the company’s objectives of decarbonisation and energy transition.
The initiative
Call4Circular, whose scouting lasted about two months, from November 2022 to January 2023, turned to startups and innovative SMEs operating in four main sectors:
- 50% Environment, with particular attention to the recovery of precious metals, rare earths and electronic boards, along with separation and recycling technologies.
- 20% Water, with focus on the purification and monitoring of industrial wastewater and sludge treatment.
- 10% Hydrogen: production, storage and distribution
- 20% Energy: storage technologies
At the end of the initial phase, one-to-one in-depth sessions were held with the most interesting startups to deepen the potential synergies. In this context, the role of the CE Lab has been to guide and facilitate the identification of the needs of circular innovation of the Iren Group, actively manage a full-bodied scouting on the issues identified, filter startups arriving at a shortlist tailored to the needs of the company to guide the drafting of the collaborative use-case.
The Selection Day
The best startups will be invited to participate at the Selection Day which will be held on 5 April 2023, in the prestigious setting of the Museo del Risorgimento in Turin.
Good luck to all participants!