As GreenTech Amsterdam 2023 opened today, Skytree and Biobest, in collaboration with PATS, had extra reason to celebrate. Skytree won the Concept Award for its Model 5 product. This year’s Innovation Award went to Biobest, in collaboration with PATS, for their Trap-Eye product.
GreenTech jury chairman Jolanda Heistek, director Greenport West-Holland, explained why these two products topped the lists in their respective categories: “The winners of the Concept & Innovation Awards were selected based on the originality of the entry, the level of sustainability and the impact on social and environmental issues. Both had a very professional way of presenting which gave the jury confidence in their development journey and business plans.”
GreenTech Concept Award Winner: Model 5 by Skytree
Product: Skytree’s DDAC technology captures CO2 directly from the air and allows for it to be either commercially utilized or permanently stored.
Product description: Skytree provides Decentralized Direct Air Capture (DDAC) units that offer a scalable alternative to the current fossil fuel-based CO2 supply chain. The DDAC units enable businesses to extract clean CO2 directly from ambient air on-site for either direct usage or permanent storage. This approach satisfies the demand for CO2 while decreasing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Heistek says: “This new technology of a startup is uniquely positioned to address several societal and environmental issues and can have a positive effect on the ecological footprint of horticulture. This crossover technology has the potential to have a revolutionizing effect on limiting fossil fuel-based CO2.”
GreenTech Innovation Award Winner: Trap-Eye by Biobest in collaboration with PATS
Product: Trap-Eye unburdens growers from sticky trap scouting using wireless devices that identify and count insects to provide a complete population overview.
Product description: Scouting is the first crucial step of successful IPM. Trap-Eye fully automates sticky trap monitoring. It uses a dense network of scouting devices to take pictures of sticky traps, which are analyzed by our artificial neural network to count both pests and beneficial insects. This provides profitable, accurate, and high-density scouting data to make better IPM decisions anytime and anywhere.
Heistek says: “A strong collaboration with a startup and an innovative combination of technology and biology. A very impressive and rapid product development journey from concept to a market-ready product. With this winner, the jury expects a major contribution to sustainability.”
This year’s winners will be showcased on the GreenTech show floor, along with the six award nominees and the longlist of more than three dozen products submitted for consideration.
Jury members for the GreenTech Innovation & Concept Awards 2023 are:
Chairman: Jolanda Heistek, Greenport West-Holland (Netherlands)
Silke Hemming, Wageningen University Research (Germany)
Peet van Adrichem, HortiTech B.V. (Netherlands)
Peter Zwinkels, Tecknokas (Netherlands)
Roel Vanderbruggen, Proefcentrum Hoogstraten (Belgium)
Bart van Meurs, Division Q (Netherlands)
Tijl Hoefnagels, Rubio (Netherlands)
The jury’s advisory committee consists of:
Brian Sparks, Greenhouse Grower (USA)
Leonardo Capitanio, Vivai Capitanio (Italy)
Enrico Verhoef, Total Greenhouse Service (Mexico)
Heinrich Dressler, Haymarket (Germany)
GreenTech Amsterdam continues through June 15, 2023.