More than half a million Swiss francs invested in university projects

Organised by the Gebert Rüf Foundation, the First Ventures Programme supports students from Universities of Applied Sciences with funding and the necessary expertise to transform their ideas into a business. The new cohort is working on solutions for the materials, food, sports, music and packagings sectors.

The selected projects are:

KUORi | Sarah Harbarth | Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
Sarah Harbarth, a material researcher at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, discovered the potential of banana peels as a valuable raw material for her project KUORi. Bananas are among the widely consumed fruits in Switzerland; however, their importation lasts 20-30 days and costs much energy, yet after consumption, the remaining peels land in the waste bin. Using banana peels combined with a biopolymer, KUORI aims to develop a biodegradable and sustainable alternative material, following the concept of a circular economy and the governing cradle-to-cradle (C2C) principle. As part of the project, the team is developing an alternative shoe outsole without microplastic abrasion.

Ignace&Sébastien | Cécile Lê & Jean-Phillippe Fonsalas | HES-SO Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale
The project "Ignace & Sebastian - The Search for the Lost Sound" aims to recreate 19th century piano hammers by designing an adaptable hammer press. By providing piano restorers with hammers of the same quality as the original, the project aims to contribute to the renewed interest of the public and pianists in the heritage of old pianos, which is currently under threat.

Mycpac |Rominga Büchler & Marc Papritz | Ostschweizer Fachhochschule
To replace the conventional polystyrene (EPS) packaging, Mycpac is developing a moulded eco-friendly packaging based on mushroom substrates and additives such as straw or husks. The company follows a rigorous process to achieve its desired results. First, the ingredients are reduced in size and mixed in an agitator. The mixture is then filled into prefabricated negative moulds, which must then be stored for 3-5 days at ideal temperatures so that the fungal mycelium can grow through the mould. Following the growth process, the growth is halted using a heat boost of 90-120°C – this heat boost helps stop the development of the mushrooms. The heat cycle also removes the retained moisture in the mould and lasts between 6-10 hours. The team purchases the substrate used as the basic material from a Swiss mushroom producer, distinguishing it from other market players. For the mushroom producer, this is a waste product and is currently passed on to biogas plants. Mycpac has already contractually secured the purchase of the entire substrate volume.

E-Climber | Fabio Fitz & Michael Haldimann | Berner Fachhochschule BFH
Climbing has maintained its popularity over the years. It is a healthy sport and an ideal therapeutic approach to practice calmness or enhance their physical ability. Unlike other sports, there is no device in the market to assists people in climbing. Fabion Fitz and Michael Haldimann developed the E-Climber, an e-bike for climbing with a revolutionary body-weight support system designed for therapeutic and handicap climbing. With the reduced body weight, new exercises become possible, which leads to a higher quality of the therapy.

ProSeed | Aurélien Ducrey|HES-SO Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale
Swiss breweries produce 80,000 tonnes of malt draff every year. This product is extremely rich in fibres and proteins but is not yet used for human nutrition. Given the increasing demand for healthier, sustainable and ethical food, manufacturers must adapt and find solutions to offer alternatives that fulfil the needs of their customers. ProSeed wants to develop an extraction process to produce a protein concentrate for food producers who wish to provide sustainable and ecological products to their customers. Unlike other imported and highly processed plant-based protein sources, ProSeed provides a local and upcycled protein powder ingredient extracted from co-products of the brewing industry. The industrial bakery sector, the main target segment, validated ProSeed and its product concept. A Minimum Viable Product with a protein content of 70% will be launched in the first quarter of 2022.

The next deadline is 01 December 2021.

(RAN)