Korean startups are emerging as trendsetters in sustainable innovations against climate change war. From smart farming solutions to reducing food wastage to cleaning the oceans, Korean startups are utilising technology to overcome environmental crisis. On World Environment Day, Koreatechdesk checks out some of the promising green tech startups.
This Agri-Tech company is promoting a sustainable lifestyle with smart farming products. Started in 2014, the startup has various products for smart farming that caters to individual homes to vertical farming spaces. Its product Planty, is a Wi-Fi-connected plant pot that connects with its caretaker via a smartphone. N.Thing also offers a 40 feet Smart Farm Cube – Planty Cube that is a modular vegetable farm with IoT devices monitoring environmental factors like temperature, humidity and can sustain vertical farms. As per the company, their technique increases yield, decreases carbon emissions, and crops grown in Planty Cube are cultivated in a non-agrochemical environment, free of harmful substances.
Plastic is perhaps one of the biggest banes of modern society that has damaged the environment more than anything else. As per a report, on average, humans produce over 200 million tons of plastic waste each year. Montsenu, a lifestyle brand, turns discarded PET bottles into useful products. The company creates clothes and fashion items from plastic bottles and recycles plastic waste. It has recycled around 976kg of 500ml wasted plastic bottles. The startup hopes to be Asia’s representative for a sustainable lifestyle.
The average Korean consumes over 500 cups of coffee a year, and South Korea ranks fourth in the world for the number of Starbucks stores per capita. However, the more coffee consumed also means more discarded coffee. Seoul-based Coffee Cube upcycles massive amounts of coffee grounds into bricks that can be used for construction! The company also produces environmental-friendly clay from coffee grounds for kids. Coffee Cube is planning to produce bricks that can be decomposed and recycled. They have also collaborated with Starbucks, which has preordered the product to use in their interior walls.
Innerbottle
The startup’s packaging bottle solution ensures zero-waste. Innerbottle’s patented technology and Pressure Protection technology design for bottles allows more usage than other conventional dispenser leaving less than 2% residue. The container’s 2-layer barrier and Diffusion Barrier Effect, prevents oxidation and denaturation, keeping it safe until the final use. The technology’s 1-valve’s solution prevents contamination and is suitable for sustainable development by providing a plastic replaceable solution. The cost of recycling an Innerbottle product is cost effective. Innerbottle’s solution can be applied to any size and shape of containers and packages, maximizing package design flexibility.
Foresys Co. Ltd.
Marine life is fast Foresys Co., Ltd., a Korean startup founded in 2017, offers innovative engineering services for ocean structuring. It also contributes towards sustainability through its renewable energy projects while developing various types of floating barriers for debris, oil & chemical, jellyfish, etc. to address environmental concerns. It also offers services for renewable energy projects involving wind, wave, and current energy through design, evaluation, and investigations. The company is developing an eco-friendly ocean debris barrier to prevent the influx of land-based ocean debris. The barrier collects debris naturally by the currents and is powered by renewable energy from waves and solar.
Shipbuilding startup Vogo has pioneered the aluminum shipbuilding market. Through its technology transfer from Sensation Yacht in New Zealand, the startup has produced aluminum patrol boats for the Navy and Coast guard. Vogo also develops a submersible line of submarines, including Korea’s first submersible capable of operating both on surface and underwater. Its eco-friendly liquid hydrogen vessels eliminate carbon fuel supply chains and make ships more environment friendly.
Oysterable’s smart IoT recycling solutions involve smart waste collection and mobile applications for local governments and businesses. The smart IoT recycling bin can be opened by a mobile app allowing to recycle and earn rewards. The smart IoT recycling bins can be installed in apartment residential complex government offices, resident center, tourist attraction, hypermarket, retails stores, plaza, etc.
The startup wants to reduce food wastage through its first of its kind mobile app where any business (B2B and B2C) that sells food can gain extra revenue by giving their unsold food a second life. The social impact food startup connects consumers directly with perfectly good, unsold food from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, and farms’ pick-up points at half price.
Also Read,
- Korean nanotechnology startup JNP Nature wants to curb environmental pollution with their innovation
- Korean food-tech startups that serve healthy, environment-friendly vegan products
- ESG is emerging as the topmost choice for investors in the Korean startup ecosystem
- Korea’s Green New Deal 2022 to support 100 Korean startups for innovative green technology
Arie Baisch
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