EIT RawMaterials supports entrepreneurs shaping the future of Europe
This year’s edition of the Forbes Under 30 Europe list features two start-ups from the EIT RawMaterials Innovation Community. Recycleye and Resourcify founders, together with their teams, are on a mission to combat waste digitalising the industry. Congratulations to Peter Hedley and Victor Dewulf from Recycleye and Gary Lewis from Resourcify on this recognition and addressing Europe’s pressing challenges with innovative solutions!
12 entrepreneurs from the EIT Community are on the list this year across four categories: Social Impact, Technology, Manufacturing & Industry, Science & Health. This brings the total number of EIT Community entrepreneurs recognised by Forbes on its 30 under 30 lists to 67 since 2016.
SOCIAL IMPACT: Peter Hedley & Victor Dewulf – Recycleye
Recycleye, the intelligent waste management start-up, developed a computer vision system and affordable robotics to build the world’s first fully automated material recovery facility. Recycleye’s vision system can detect and classify all items in waste streams – broken down by material, object and even brand. Recycleye is supported by Microsoft AI for Good, Playfair Capital, Atypical Ventures and others.
The company joined the RawMaterials Accelerator that helped bolster the start-up’s mission to turn waste back into valuable resources. EIT RawMaterials Accelerator is the pan-European programme, which provides tailored coaching and tools for start-ups to scale up, has facilitated Recycleye’s expansion into Europe. The previous stages of the programme have supported Recycleye on strategic moves to fuel growth and introduced the company to leading research institutions and waste management companies. Now the team is in the final stage of the programme that will support Recycleye in advancing automation in the recycling industry.
TECHNOLOGY: Gary Lewis – Resourcify
Resourcify aims to transform the waste management space by connecting waste producers and recyclers together to make recycling easy, fast and affordable. Since its creation, the company has grown to have over USD 25 million worth of waste contracts being managed via the platform. The start-up has raised EUR 4 million and works with clients like Johnson & Johnson and Bosch, among others. The start-up joined the EIT RawMaterials Community in 2016, as part of the Booster programme, to bring the solution to market.
During the COVID-19 crisis, waste has increased in relevance. Recycling facilities are being overloaded, as more waste is being generated and thrown away in ever-increasing quantities. Last year, Resourcify received funding from the Booster Call in response to the COVID-19 crisis to respond to the need to commit waste. The funding was essential for the team to focus on taking the next step in the company’s development, contributing to the mission, and creating more demand for a service that tackles the very heart of the waste problem.
