A potential game-changing Israeli company is making headlines for an innovation that has the potential to solve so many ecological problems, and it is winning awards for its brilliance.
On Monday, the South Korean-based LG electronics company announced the four winners of the “LIFE'S GOOD AWARD”, intended to support innovative companies from all over the world that faces various challenges in creating "a better life for everyone”, the theme of the company's global activity in recent years. Among the winners was a rather small Israeli startup company called “SOLUTUM” which based on the product they offer, is well on its way to becoming a leading manufacturer of sustainable plastic products.
SOLUTUM, has developed a material practically identical to plastic that has the ability to dissolve in water in less than 20 minutes. Established in 2017, the company currently only has 23 employees. Having raised approximately $11 Million to date, they should be expecting heavier cash flows due to its recent publicity. What is amazing about the product is how little of a footprint it leaves once dissolved. Dissolving in 'room temperature' water, the plastic decomposes without leaving microplastic residues or toxins whatsoever.
The judging panel at the finals of the competition held at the LG Innovation Center in Seoul, South Korea, included, among others, LG's Technology Director Dr. Kim Byoung-Hoon and LG's Strategy Director Sam-Soo Lee, alongside senior executives from the corporate climate responsibility industry. The judges rated the four winners who made it to the finals, based on criteria of technological innovation and concern for sustainability and ensuring accessibility to technology and innovation, which are central focus points in LG's long-term goals called "Better Life 2030".
Watch out world for Israeli Sharon Barak, inventor, entrepreneur and cofounder of Solutum. The company makes plastic that dissolves. I saw it last night in Houston with my own two eyes. Magic. pic.twitter.com/PEM7dZZpWP
— Glenn Hamer (@GlennHamer) September 22, 2022
Sharon Barak, the founder of SOLUTUM, said after she accepted the award that "we are happy and excited to see and know that a huge corporation like LG recognizes the value of our product to solve the disposable plastic problem, through a solution created by an Israeli company that changes the rules of the game and creates a global opportunity for commercial companies."
Last year, the company also won the top prize at an annual startup competition at Tel Aviv University’s Coller School of Management in addition to Seagate's 'Innovator of the Year' award. According to Barak, no elaborate process or chemicals are needed to decompose the material. Once consumers have used the product made with Solutum, users simply toss it away or even down the drain. Manufacturing the product is also made simple by using existing machinery used in the manufacture of plastics.
According to earlier interviews, Barak says the company will be setting up production and sales within the United States and already has interest from companies large and small, including the multi-national Colgate-Palmolive Company.
CONGRATS to Zora-backed Solutum, winner of @Seagate’s Innovator of the Year competition for its biodegradable substitute for plastic!
— Zora Ventures (@zoraventures) December 1, 2022
"Our vision is to eliminate the problem of plastic pollution," said Sharon Barak, Co Founder & CTO at Solutum.#Zora | #Deeptech | #Israel pic.twitter.com/uHe5uYV3ve
Among SOLUTUM, the list of winners included Dot, from South Korea, which developed a device to display information for the visually impaired; Day1Lab from South Korea, which produces organic polymer plastic that completely decomposes in fresh water after about two weeks and NONA Technologies, from the US, which developed a water desalination and purification solution that uses ion concentration polarization.
