Higgs EDGE was first introduced to Scottish EDGE during round seven of the competition. This special award is aimed at entrepreneurs who have a company that has applied leading edge technology to an innovative product, or product under development in the Science, Technology or Engineering sector, which has the potential to be world-leading and could be commercialised on a global scale.
Scottish EDGE Round Ten Higgs EDGE Winners:
CuanTec are focussed on circular economy approaches to reduction of food waste and spoilage in the food chain. Food waste, due to bacterial spoilage is a major issue, especially with growing populations and ever more pressure to feed people. CuanTec is currently engaged in a SMART Scotland feasibility study, developing a novel food packaging material derived from food waste, namely langoustine shells. CuanTec put waste langoustine shells through a novel biological process to obtain chitosan and other high-value components from the shells. The chitosan obtained is mixed with other biopolymers to produce antimicrobial, compostable biodegradable food packaging material. The company has recently provided early-stage prototypes to fish processors for testing and expect these products to move to production in 2018 and to market by end 2018 with regulatory approval.
Oxy-Gen Combustion is focused on the design and manufacture of the world’s cleanest power generators and other off-highway plant and equipment. Existing power generators have little or no emissions abatement technology which seriously impacts on the health of the public in the UK and throughout the world. The NHS notes that air pollution is second only to cigarette smoking as the biggest cause of premature deaths in the UK. Over 26,000 people die annually in the UK caused by air pollution, 3,900 deaths are directly related to emissions from power generators and other off-highway equipment. Oxy-Gen Combustion’s bespoke generators developed in partnership with Royal Dutch Shell plc are capable of running on biofuels, reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 85% and toxic emissions such as particulate matter and NOx emissions are reduced by 94%.
Grab your Round 10 Final ticket below and come see CuanTec and Oxy-Gen Combustion pick up their award!
