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 hashtag#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 hashtag#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 hashtag#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