Ina Vollmer has been nominated as one of six finalists for the Huibregtsenprijs.

Ina Vollmer has been nominated as one of six finalists for the Huibregtsenprijs, congratulations!

This prestigious prize recognizes recent research projects that combine scientific excellence and innovation with outstanding societal impact or outreach. Vollmer has been nominated for a project in which she addresses one of the biggest obstacles in plastic recycling: the lack of an efficient method for chemically recycling polypropylene and polyethylene, which together account for over half of all plastic waste.

Her energy-efficient solution, using a process called mechanocatalysis, breaks down plastic waste in a ball mill into its chemical building blocks. With specially designed catalysts, these components can be reused to create high-quality plastic. Vollmer has also developed a prototype ball mill capable of processing up to ten kilograms of plastic waste.

Through her startup Repolyze, which began bringing this solution to market in February, Vollmer and her team are now optimizing the mill during the scaling-up phase. Her technological ingenuity, scientific rigor, and dedication to making society cleaner are truly commendable.

Read more about mechanocatalysis here: https://lnkd.in/exQttkbf
Check out list of nominations: https://lnkd.in/eQwDYGaZ