Zincovery Takes Out $100,000 C-Prize For Environmental Innovation

The environment stands to benefit from waste-recycling technology developed by Zincovery, which is this year’s winner of the Callaghan Innovation C-Prize challenge.

Zincovery is a Christchurch-based business on a mission to create in Aotearoa the world’s first waste-free galvanising industry.

Zincovery’s technology is designed to tackle the problem of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of zinc and acid released into landfill and wastewater every year through the steel galvanising process.

It will provide a low-cost recycling service for waste acid, using new technology to fully recycle the waste acid and extract the valuable materials it contains. The recycled zinc, iron oxide and fresh acid can then be reused by industry.

Zincovery CEO, Jonathan Ring, said winning the C-Prize felt like putting the business on the fast track to getting up-and-running.

“Winning the Callaghan Innovation C-Prize is huge. The excitement and the attention is exactly what we need moving forward to our first investment round, which will launch later this year.”

Mr Ring says the $100,000 prize will help the business expand and employ more staff to focus on R&D while he can work on commercialisation.

“Straight away I am going to employ one or two more people, which will allow me to put more effort into developing our technology and focus on the investment round at the same time.

“This investment will fund us entering the local market with our first commercial plant. We are going to start building it next year with the aim of making New Zealand the site of the world’s first waste-free galvanising industry.”

Zincovery took the judges attention through its impressive innovation and credibility as a commercially-successful business down the track. 
 

C-Prize judge Suse Reynolds, Executive Director of the Angel Association, noted in her comments that Zincovery demonstrated both excellent innovation in technology and an exciting business.

“Zincovery is not only inherently exciting but it is also such a terrific exemplar of the role New Zealand can play in saving the planet.”

Callaghan Innovation has been running the C-Prize competition since 2015, encouraging ambitious innovators and businesses to develop new technology solutions to global problems.

“The C-Prize is a great way to empower New Zealand's next generation of innovators. It provides start-ups with mentoring, support and business advice to help them commercialise their products,” says Vic Crone, Chief Executive of Callaghan Innovation.

“We are incredibly proud of the amazing calibre of innovation happening right here in New Zealand, and congratulate Zincovery and all the finalists for their work,” adds Ms Crone.

The judges recognised some other outstanding entries into this year’s competition, awarding highly commended to One Bin, Ngā Kaitiaki and Loop HQ.

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