The NUK jury said:
“A good technical solution with a lot of heart and soul. Here we have founders who are prepared to take risks for their idea. With their business concept, they also create more sustainability. The very competent and committed team has convincingly put the idea on paper.”
Interview with the founders
What is your business idea?
AES – Autonomous Energy Systems is developing a system for on-site waste recycling. The waste produced, between 50 and 150 kg per day, is turned into oil. This oil can then be returned to the waste oil cycle and recycled or partially converted into electricity.
How did you come up with this?
Up to now, waste and plastic mixtures have had to be disposed of at high costs. At the same time, the recycling rate of plastics is extremely low. The idea came naturally: Why not recycle household waste yourself?
Why does the world need you/ For which problem have you found a solution?
The recycling rate of plastics, especially of mixed plastic waste, is still very low. On the one hand, our concept solves the recycling problem and, at the same time, allows value creation at the place where the waste is produced.
What appeals to you about being a founder?
Being able to implement your own ideas and the chance to build up a company.
What are your next steps?
First of all, prototype tests will be started at the end of April in order to be able to find suitable processes for purification for different waste compositions. In the middle of the year, the prototype will be modified and will be used autonomously by a pilot customer. With a successful proof of concept of the prototype, the patent will be filed.
What is your conclusion about NUK?
The NUK business plan competition gives us the chance to present our idea to a broad spectrum of reviewers and interested parties and to collect a lot of feedback. We are grateful for that.