OREANDA-NEWS. April 29, 2014. One of the recipients of financing selected by Prototron in the call for proposals that ended in the middle of March is the Organic Filter team, whose idea is to develop an algae filter, which manages to reproduce itself. The team will receive 8463 euros from Prototron for the development of its idea.

“The organic filter we’re developing is meant for cleaning landfill gas, biogas and flue gas and it is an alternative to the presently used expensive coal filters that are harmful for the environment,” said Kristjan Jarvan when introducing the team’s idea.

Robert Kitt, member of the expert panel and Head of Corporate Banking at Swedbank, said that the idea is revolutionary in the context of environmental protection and energy savings. “Increasing volumes and raising productivity are important for economic growth. Entrepreneurs must find a way of achieving this in a manner that is as environmentally friendly and energy-efficient as possible. Organic Filter is developing a technology that will have great environmental benefits when used, for example, in the waste management sector, as the filter is able to reproduce itself,” added Kitt.

Prototron’s financing also gives the team a place in the Tehnopol Incubator for at least six months.

60 ideas, mainly from the areas of information and communications technology and electronics, were received during Prototron’s second call for proposals that ended on 15 March. The second amount of financing, 8463 euros, went to the Organic Filter team, whose idea is to develop an algae filter, which manages to reproduce itself.

The proposals received by Prototron were evaluated by an expert panel consisting of Priit Alamae (Nortal), Jaak Raie (Tehnopol), Robert Kitt (Swedbank), Yrjo Ojasaar (EstBAN, Solon Partners), Andrus Oks (SmartCap) and Jaanus Tamm (Defendec).

More than 500 ideas have been submitted in all of Prototron’s calls for proposals. 12 projects have received financing in the total amount of ca. 160,000 euros. Many teams have also launched their products successfully on the market: Shaka’s wind meter for smartphone; Qminder’s portative stand that communicates with smartphones and helps people avoid standing in queues; Flydog’s marine monitoring systems.

In evaluating the submitted ideas and deciding which ones to support, the panel consider the business potential and innovation of the prototypes as well as the competencies of the teams that will put them together. No restrictions have been established on the amount of money that can be applied for and the new call for proposals is opened online at www.prototron.ee