Vartega Carbon Recycling LLC has announced it was one of six out of more than 200 nominated companies chosen as a grand prize national finalist at the 2015 Cleantech Open and Cleantech Global Forum event. The Global Forum was held Nov. 19, 2015 in Redwood City, California.
In addition to being one of the six finalists, Vartega was named the winner of the Emerging Technology Award.
”Vartega is extremely honored to have been named as a Cleantech Open Wildcard Grand Prize National Finalist and to receive the National Emerging Technology Award,” says Andrew Maxey, president and CEO of the company. “The award we received is a testament to the Cleantech Open’s dedication to find, foster and fund truly innovative clean technology. We’re grateful for their support of early stage companies such as ours.”
Arvada, Colorado-based Vartega Carbon Fiber Recycling LLC is a recycler of materials such as strong and lightweight carbon fiber used in the aerospace, automotive, wind energy and sporting goods industries. The company, founded in 2014, says it is developing patent-pending recycling technology “to address the 15,000 metric tons of carbon fiber waste that is being landfilled and incinerated every year.”
Vartega says its technology uses a low-energy chemistry-based process “to free carbon fiber filaments for use in carbon fiber nonwoven fabrics, yarns, thermoplastic pellets and 3D printing filaments.”
The Cleantech Open says its mission is “to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges.” Boston-based propane tank monitoring technology firm Tank Utility claimed the 2015 Cleantech Open Grand Prize of more than $200,000 in funding and in-kind services.