IFAT Munich is once again presenting itself as a launch pad for innovative young companies in the environmental technology sector. From May 13 to 17, 2024, they will be presenting themselves to international experts in the Start-up Area, on the Green Stage, and on special guided tours.
“While startup activity has slowed down in other sectors of the economy, the dynamism of the startup scene in the environmental technology industry remains high,” says Stefan Rummel. The CEO of Messe München attributes this primarily to the long-term, existential importance of the topics dealt with. “Solving global environmental problems—such as climate change and its consequences, polluted seas and water shortages, or growing mountains of waste and dwindling natural resources—is one of the major challenges facing humanity and offers virtually unlimited scope for innovative ideas and new business models,” Rummel is certain about that.
Start-up Area for international young companies
Consequently, young companies will once again be given a broad forum at IFAT Munich 2024. From May 13 to 17 of this year, the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technology will once again feature a Start-up Area in Hall C4. Around 50 young companies from over 15 countries will present themselves in the separate exhibition area. Among them will be, for example, the Norwegian company Renasys, which aims to revolutionize wastewater treatment with a new type of mechanical filtration. “Our process offers unprecedented high flow rates for filtration levels from 40 down to 5 microns,” explains Christopher Sveen, Co-Founder and CEO at Renasys, and continues: “We are not only achieving outstanding efficiency in particle removal, but are also pioneering the recovery of resources, for example, organic matter from municipal wastewater or minerals from mining.” His aim is to forge further long-term partnerships at IFAT Munich in order to jointly tackle some of the world’s most pressing ecological challenges.
IFAT Munich 2024 also marks the market entry of Solar Materials. The Magdeburg-based startup has set itself the task of using its patented technology to completely recycle solar modules. “Not only glass, aluminum and copper are recovered, as has been customary in the industry to date, but also the critical raw material silicon and the precious metal silver,” explains co-founder Dr. Jan-Philipp Mai. According to him, this added value reduces recycling fees for customers such as solar farm operators and module manufacturers. The company currently has an annual recycling capacity of up to 150,000 modules, which should already have been expanded to 500,000 modules by 2025.
At the moment, the plan for Metycle, a young company founded in Cologne in 2022, is to become the “world’s most efficient and trusted marketplace for secondary metals.” The digital platform enables sellers and buyers to trade in all types of metals and mixed metals. Metycle manages the entire trading chain so that scrap dealers and metal collectors don’t need to contact recycling companies and smelters themselves. The respective parties to the transaction can track the supply chain online in real time.
Guided tours daily to selected startups
In addition to visiting the exhibitors in the Start-up Area on their own, trade visitors to IFAT Munich 2024 can also join guided tours. In the afternoon, from Monday through Thursday, selected companies in the special area will be visited with an expert guide.
