Fresh Ideas from Düsseldorf #05
Climate protection, decarbonisation, energy transition, sustainable use of resources ... the list of ecological challenges is long. To succeed on the path to sustainable climate protection, many new ideas are needed, as well as a radical rethink across the board. Start-ups play an important role here; not only is innovation usually second nature to them, they also show what is possible if there is enough determination, with lean processes, a modern „mindset“ and a good deal of courage. Young companies around the globe are thus making an important contribution to the climate solutions of tomorrow and to a more sustainable world. Three companies from Düsseldorf show just how different this contribution can look: Hydroplace, KIYO and LEROMA.
Hydroplace makes green hydrogen accessible
Great hopes rest on green hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future. But how do producers and consumers find each other? In practice, networking is often lacking. With their start-up Hydroplace, the two founders Dr. Themo Voswinckel and Sebastian Zingsheim want to remedy this. Their mission: to bring supply and demand together on a digital platform and thus create a full, decentralised market for green hydrogen. “Hydroplace is our contribution to a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and resource-saving industry of the future,” says Themo Voswinckel. “Local, demand-driven and digital.”
The prototype could be launched in June 2022. The platform independently calculates purchase and demand quantities and finds the perfect match based on purity, timing and distance. Transactions and transport can also be handled via Hydroplace. There is already support and encouragement from various sides: The new hydrogen marketplace is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (digiHub), is represented in the H2Hub, the hub for start-ups from the hydrogen industry, and cooperates with the Canadian IT group CGI.
The next step is to integrate more and more existing networks and then also small and medium-sized enterprises into the platform. “Our goal is to network as many companies as possible and thus make it easier for them to trade in green hydrogen,” says Sebastian Zingsheim. In Düsseldorf, as an important hub for numerous industries, the founders feel they are in the right place. •
Hydroplace, Speditionsstraße 15a, 40221 Düsseldorf
KIYO supports a sustainable future
Modular, sustainably produced, high quality and not too expensive - these are the demands Jonathan Knyrim wants to meet with his start-up KIYO. As a trained carpenter, he knows how complicated - and therefore expensive - furniture designs often are. Since February 2022, his first answer to this has been the R1 shelving system, which has already been nominated for the German Design Award: It consists of only one element, which can be flexibly combined to form a shelf, a sideboard or even a seat. A modern furnishing alternative, somewhere between IKEA and designer furniture. “Many people want high-quality furniture solutions in the mid-price segment,” Jonathan tells us. “Through our minimalist design, we can offer high quality at affordable prices and at the same time convince with sustainability. This is because the R1 is intelligently and materially efficiently produced and thus has a lower carbon footprint than comparable products from the competition.”
In the coming years, KIYO’s product portfolio is set to grow further, always following the minimalist guiding principle “Less is future”. The first dealer contracts have already been concluded, and many more are to follow throughout Germany in the coming year. From 2024, KIYO would then also like to gain a foothold on the international market. “We are pleased that we keep meeting with enthusiasm,” says Jonathan. “Our products strike a chord with the times and support a sustainable future in which people focus on the essentials. That’s how we make a difference.” •
KIYO GmbH, Lichtstraße 52, 40235 Düsseldorf
LEROMA fights foodwaste
Hanno Hartmann (Sales Manager), Alexander Yanchin (CTO), Marina Billinger (CEO) and Florian Casalino (Sustainability Manager).
Reducing resource waste in the food sector by at least 50% - that is the goal of Marina Billinger, founder of the start-up LEROMA. In 2019, she launched her idea: a digital B2B platform for food raw materials.
LEROMA short for Lebensmittelrohstoffmarkt“(food commodity market) is, on the one hand, a raw materials database for food producers and suppliers. On the other hand, it includes a surplus exchange. Producers can enter their surpluses and by-products from production and sell them on. This is an important step, as the agricultural and processing industries produce around 3.6 million tonnes of waste every year. “Since January 2021, 750 tonnes of food commodities have already been saved through our surplus exchange,” Marina Billinger tells us. “And every day there are more.” In the Valorisation Forum, manufacturers and suppliers can also exchange information about the recycling possibilities of food commodities directly on the platform.
Years before she founded the company, Marina was already intensively involved with the issue of commodities. She quickly realised that sustainability - if it is to succeed - must be exemplified not only to the end consumers but also to the producers. With LEROMA, the Düsseldorf-based entrepreneur now brings together stakeholders and creates synergies to raise environmental awareness. She has already received several awards for this, including the Eco-Award. And a team from “Galileo” has already visited the Düsseldorf office to film LEROMA for a TV report. •
LEROMA GmbH, Rosmarinstraße 12K, 40235 Düsseldorf
Words Maria Leipold
Pictures Hydroplace, KIYO GmbH, Leroma GmbH