Norwegian firm Afterwind has won the 13th Turner MBA Impact Investing Network and Training (MIINT) competition to secure investment in its technology for mechanically recycling wind turbine blades.
Every year, Bridges Impact Foundation and the ESG Initiative encourage the analysis by graduate students around the world of innovative businesses that appeal to them.
The honours and prize money of US$ 50 000 (EUR 45 000) were secured by a London Business School team led by Zeib Khwaja, Shahvir Pooniwala and Yen Tran Hai when the event was held at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
Closed loop for green energy
The young team had assessed Afterwind’s sustainable business model and submitted a winning report on it to the MIINT judges.
‘On one side, we worked closely with faculty from Wharton and London Business School, and on the other side, we immersed ourselves in Afterwind, the company we were assessing,’ says Khwaja. ‘Months of research and learning culminated in winning first place and securing US$50 000 investment into the company.’
The Norwegian recycler, based in Oslo, reprocesses wind turbine blades into recycled, traceable, high-quality materials. These can be used to create next generation blades.
The mechanical solution breaks down the blades into core components in a few hours and the recycler says this can be done cost effectively and is carbon neutral. Swedish technology firm Librixer helped develop the process.
Transparency
Afterwind stores relevant data on a digital platform, allowing it to track the journey of each blade from collection to second life. The recycler is confident this will boost transparency in what’s becoming a fast-growing niche market.
‘Afterwind stood out in the Turner MIINT competition as a start-up tackling a very large and significant problem using proprietary technology that affords a truly circular recycling solution,’ comments judge Eduardo Medeiros.
‘We look forward to following the positive impact the company will have on advancing sustainability in the renewable energy sector.’
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