Entrepreneur Alejandro Santacreu, the brains behind PuzzlePhone, has been welding and “disassembling stuff” with his grandpa since he was a kid. Today, his innovation is one of eight selected in our LAUNCH Design and Manufacturing Challenge, offering solutions to accelerate a circular economy using new design techniques and alternative ways of manufacturing and production.
Meet the 2017 #LAUNCHCircular innovators:
- Living Ink Technologies - Making renewable and biodegradable printing ink from algae
- Colorifix - Converting agricultural residues into pigments and dyed textiles using no acids or solvents – just sugar and biology
- StrataLayer - Modular build furniture that changes according to life scenarios
- AEROPOWDER - A sustainable insulation material created from waste feathers
- Recircular - A brokering platform that proposes alternatives for a given waste stream and connects the generator with potential consumers
- University College, London - A new policy that companies only sell the lifetime services of their products but retain ownership of the materials
- EON - The industry’s first RFID tag in the form of a thread that can integrate with textiles to power recycling
- Circular Devices - PuzzlePhone is a modular smartphone designed for longevity and circularity; it is customizable, repairable, and upgradable
On November 29-30, all eight will attend this year’s LAUNCH Accelerator Forum at LAUNCH partner Kvadrat's headquarters in Denmark. They will be joined by 35 industry executives, government officials, investors, and experts in design and manufacturing, to support and help scale the innovations by offering one-on-one mentorship, access to market partners, and facilitated opportunities for investment with LAUNCH partners and others. Make sure to connect with us on Facebook for live interviews from the Forum in Denmark, and follow us on Twitter with the hashtag #LAUNCHCircular for our stories.
About LAUNCH:
LAUNCH was founded in 2009 by NASA, USAID, the U.S. Department of State, NIKE and SecondMuse. Our mission is to LAUNCH and scale innovations that can change the world through the power of aligned communities and networks. Our moonshot is System0 – a future of infinite prosperity with zero injustice for all. In 12 cycles we have learned what it takes to make a network thrive: Capital, Credibility, Capacity, Connectivity, Creativity.
Our Impact: 2,300 Innovators Vetted 102 Innovators Accelerated 80% Innovator Success Rate $140M+ Direct Funding to Innovators $0.5B+ Additional Funding Influenced $4.3B+ Social and Environmental Impact 95M+ People reached Globally via Digital Engagement
Co-founders Elena Dieckmann and Ryan Robinson of AEROPOWDER , sustainable insulation material created from waste feathers.
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