Accelerace invests in THE UPCYCL, a circular matchmaker of industrial waste materials
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Accelerace invests in the Aarhus-based THE UPCYCL, which aims to accelerate the circulation of industrial waste materials between the production and development sectors. By matching industries that want to sell leftover materials with producers and developers that need upcycled materials for their products, THE UPCYCL reduces the number of materials wasted and the number of virgin materials used.
THE UPCYCL, with Rikke Ullersted in the lead, helps companies turn trash into cash in four steps: identify waste materials for producers, make the materials accessible for designers and developers through a digital platform and showroom, facilitate collaboration between companies, and manage the material trade.
It is no news that companies must transition into more sustainable production practices to stay relevant among an ever-growing environmentally-focused consumer base. Using upcycled materials is one of the most effective ways to reduce companies’ CO₂ footprint. However, what is considered valuable material in one sector is often treated as production waste in another. Effective matchmaking across sectors is — in startup lingo — an untapped market opportunity, and why we invested in THE UPCYCL:
“We match, trade and handle industrial waste materials between the industries that have them, and the companies that can use them. By doing so, we reduce the amounts of materials wasted while we reduce the number of virgin materials spent. All our New Waste materials come in continuous flows, great volume, and are uniform. We bring a win-win-win for the companies in both ends of the chain.. or the circle actually..”
Rikke Ullersted, CEO & Founder at THE UPCYCL
Soon, THE UPCYCL will provide a calculation of the climate footprint when circulating industrial waste materials. The long-term plan is to accelerate the global use of circular materials across sectors!
“The idea behind THE UPCYCL emerged from [seeing] the need to use sustainable materials in a client’s project but not having a service to providing the overview of material options, and knowing the procedures of industrial mass production and the amount of material waste produced due to efficient performance.”
Rikke Ullersted, CEO & Founder at THE UPCYCL
Rikke founded THE UPCYCL in 2020 and the rest is, as you say, history.