France-based, Ever Dye turns vegetable-waste into color pigments for the textile industry (without using petrochemicals). The startups core tech is based on a novel dyeing approach. <Quick primer: traditional dyeing is an energy-intensive two step process: the 1st, which aims to whiten/ bleach the fabrics, requires heating them at 90 degrees for an hour. The 2nd, which aims to affix the color (pigments), requires heating the textiles at 130 degrees for 3-6 hours (usually in autoclaves)>. Ever Dye can bleach fabrics at 50 degrees (effectively “pre-treating” them for dyes to adhere more easily) & affix color at room temperature; the combined process takes 30 minutes/ 8x times faster and reduces energy consumption 15x. “As we’re...

Germany-based, Orcan Energy "harvests waste heat from small to medium sources & turns it into energy". To do so, the startup sells plug & play efficiency "PACK"(s), that can easily be integrated on existing flue gas, steam & thermal oil circuits as well as liquid heat (i.e. hot water) sources; these include furnaces in cement, zinc, metal & glass industry, as well as thermal afterburners in automotive, construction & wood processing and refineries. The startup's innovation is an "Organic Ranking Cycle" (ORC) inside the PACKs, which works as follows: an “evaporator” transfers the heat source into the PACK; that heat pressurizes a working fluid, which is then routed/ vaporized to drive an expansion machine/ generator...