Best deep-tech pitch at Startup Day dealt with removing heavy metals from water

Of all the water on Earth, only 2.5% is fit for drinking. Pro-1 NaNoSolutions offers a solution to the growing clean water crisis with its innovative filter. Conventional filters usually fail to remove heavy metals from water. However, the filter made of sand and very small nanoparticles traps harmful metals in the water while retaining beneficial minerals. The company's filter does not require electricity to operate, and there is no water loss.

"The team had a proven track record of working with water companies and protected intellectual property proving the uniqueness of the technology. This is a good example of how a research-based solution can help mitigate a high-impact problem. We hope the technology will soon find its way to industrial and commercial scale-up,” said jury member and Head of Startup Estonia Vaido Mikheim.

The company’s founders are Erwan Yann Rauwel, Professor in Nanotechnologies at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and Protima Rauwel, Professor of Applied Nanotechnology at the Estonian Aviation Academy.

The winner of the competition was selected by the jury comprising Vaido Mikheim (Startup Estonia), Martin Koppel (2C Ventures) and Astrid Maldre (Swedbank). The title came with a travelling trophy for one year and two tickets to the next Startup Day.

In total, eight teams took part in the competition: Asvel OÜ, Arpengen OÜ, Concepteasy OÜ, Frontier Perception, GoldenUX, Plant EV Technologies, Pro-1 NaNoSolutions OÜ and TerraScan.

UniTartu Deep Tech Pitch Match is a pitching competition initiated by the University of Tartu. The participants were the best of the research-intensive entrepreneurial idea development programme “From Science to Business!” and the winners of the Delta X business models competition.