The fellows will also receive support as they take their first steps towards entrepreneurship through the Faculty of Impact coaching programme. In this way, the programme helps academics on their way to generate social and/or economic impact based on their research. The 2024 round focused on the themes of Agriculture, Water and Food and Circular Economy. Consequently, most fellows will work on these themes.

Roland Berdaguer - Microbes for a Sustainable Agriculture

Agriculture is crucial for providing food to a growing world population but faces large challenges. There is growing evidence that many of these challenges can be overcome with microbes. The MiCRop consortium, which is led by the UvA, therefore proposed to create a start-up company, MicroBioLogicals. This start-up will develop a product against potato cyst nematodes based on microbes. These nematodes are currently causing big losses in potato yield. The product will allow farmers to fight this pest in a more environmentally friendly way. After this first product, MicroBioLogicals aims to develop more products, also based on microbes, to make agriculture more sustainable.

Florenz Buß - BOR-LYTE ‒ Sustainable Battery Electrolytes

This project at the UvA develops eco-friendly borate electrolytes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) using borax and industrial boron waste. It reduces environmental impact and reliance on scarce materials while offering a safer, more sustainable alternative to lithium-based systems (LIBs). The goal is to create affordable, reliable energy storage for renewable sources.