"Food waste tech ‘recycled’ by Bradfield Prize winner as new competition launches"
4 July, 2023, Business Weekly Newspaper wrote:
Vuala, co-founded by CEO Abiel Ma, is launching a pilot of its food waste recycling ‘bio bin’ at The Bradfield Centre on Cambridge Science Park – which hosts the Trinity Bradfield Prize.
Ma says he is excited to have chosen Cambridge for the first public trial of the technology. He said: “Anyone visiting Bradfield will have an excellent opportunity to explore our groundbreaking food waste recycling technology, the Vuala X1, and witness its potential firsthand.
“During a visit, you'll have the chance to interact with the Vuala X1, meet #TeamVuala, ask questions, and gain valuable insights into how our invention can make food waste recycling easy!
“This pilot had already gained exceptional momentum, with overwhelming requests to visit and see the Vuala X1 in action. These include delegates from Homerton College, Cambridge Judge Business School, Hallmark Carehome, Millennium Hotel and Resort, plus local councils, Octopus Ventures, The Creator Fund and various angel Investors.
“Our aim is to leverage the success of this pilot trial and have our first commercial installation at Bradfield Centre. We’ll then kick our commercial launch and start taking orders for Vuala X1.”
Vuala was founded by scientists and industry experts from the University of Cambridge; the Vuala X1 is a bio-mechanical system, utilising targeted micro-organisms together with specialised mechanical design, to automatically separate food waste from other wastes, turning them into raw material for biogas and hydrogen production within hours onsite.
Vuala X1 allows food waste to be stored for more than a month without smell, significantly delaying collection frequency, saving 95 per cent labour and logistics while reducing CO2 emission by 75 per cent. Vuala's mission is to reduce 100 million tonnes of CO2 in 10 years.
Now new success stories are being sought in the 2023 Trinity Bradfield Prize. The competition is one of the leading early stage Tech & Science awards running at The University of Cambridge and is steered by Trinity College Cambridge and The Bradfield Centre.
No-strings-attached grant funding is provided, alongside a comprehensive package of support and mentoring, designed to support translating early stage technologies into real-world impact.
Bradfield Centre boss James Parton says all finalists will have access to the centre’s hand picked mentor network, providing 1:1 support and advice, and will receive three months free membership of The Bradfield Centre – providing an opportunity to rub shoulders with the founders of 120 startups that make up the centre community.