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Qualus Selected to Present at CleanEquity Monaco 2021

July 6, 2021 By Ana Ansell

Qualus will present at CleanEquity Monaco 2021 on 22nd & 23rd July at the Fairmont Monte Carlo. 

CleanEquity is an annual invitation-only event hosted by Innovator Capital, the London based specialist investment bank. The 30 best-in-class sustainable technologies must meet high standards set by the selection committee. The conference provides an intimate and collegiate setting for inventors and entrepreneurs to share their stories with delegates – key decision makers looking to assist them with reaching their commercial and strategic goals.

Other partners and sponsors include Prince Albert II of Monaco’s Foundation, Cision, Covington & Burling, Cranfield University, MIT Solve, the Monaco Economic Board and Taronis Fuels.

Qualus has been identified by an expert panel as one of the world’s most innovative sustainable technology companies and has been selected to present to selected sovereign, corporate, family offices and professional investors & acquires, policy makers, end users and international trade media.

About Qualus and its Sfere technology

Qualus began life as a research and development project to improve the tanning process at the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) at the University of Northampton between 2013 and 2016. Since then, successful pilots of Qualus’ Sfere technology have been run across Europe and Latin America, and patents have been granted in key markets, including Europe, US, India and China. The company achieved Technology Readiness Level 9 in 2020 and is now focused on rapid commercialisation.

The global leather industry, with an annual turnover of £50 billion, uses vast quantities of water, chemicals and energy while also creating large volumes of effluent for treatment. Tanneries face market and regulatory pressure to reduce pollution but doing so has proven difficult to date without losing competitiveness due to increased costs or because of the unacceptable reduction in the quality of their leather. The patented Sfere technology from Qualus is able to cut the use of water by up to 40% and chemicals by up to 15% in leather tanning and retanning, without affecting the quality of the leather produced. The key to Qualus’ commercial success has been a recognition that sustainability should not require manufacturers, brands, or consumers to compromise on value or quality.

About Innovator Capital Limited

Innovator Capital (ICL), established in 2003, is a London based specialist investment bank focusing on health and sustainable technology companies; advising on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, IP, business & corporate development. ICL’s mission is to assist IP rich private & public companies with finding the right investors, acquirers, customers, licensees and commercial partners.

Event website: https://www.cleanequitymonaco.com

ESTR Limited (trading as Qualus). A company registered in England and Wales. Company number 12000641.


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Module 2: Sfere Dosing

At the time that Sferes are required in a drum for processing, they must be transported from the storage to the drum. A variety of mechanisms for transport exist, ranging from a fully automated system (e.g., using pneumatic pumping) or a manual system such as using cranes. Typically, the more automated the system the greater the capital expenditure required.

Module 5: Sfere Cleaning Station

In order to ensure that the chemicals from the previous cycle do not contaminate the next process, the Sferes must be cleaned before they are returned to storage. Qualus has designed a machine, the SCS Station, that has been tailored specifically to clean the Sferes. This is the only component of the SMS System provided by Qualus.

Module 4: Separation of Sferes and substrates

At the end of the processing cycle, the contents of a drum are emptied into a large container. As the Sferes are designed to fall off the substrates, a simple lifting and shaking of the substrates is required to remove any Sferes from their surface. To ensure that the lifting and shaking is done systematically and efficiently, some tanneries may choose to implement an automated hoist system or a water bath to help move the substrates from the container to the next stage of processing.

Module 3: Intermediate Float Draining

Qualus’ technology works with existing drums with minor modifications to ensure that the Sferes are retained in the drum during mid-cycle drains.

Module 1: Sfere Storage

Sferes need to be stored somewhere when they are not being used in a drum for processing. The containers for storage can vary from one large silo to small containers, depending on a tanner’s needs and constraints (e.g., available space.)