Entrepreneurship Awards for modular vertical farms and AI clothing sorter
Summary
"It takes an employee an average of six months of training to properly sort second-hand clothes," Bart van Gorcum pitched during the battle for the Future Resources Award. Van Gorcum of Valuesort.ai won over the jury with its AI tool to analyse clothes by brand, size and quality via a camera and robotic system, estimating the true market value of a garment. His modular vertical farms are reminiscent of a cake display case next to the checkout, but instead of sweetness, they promise the freshest vegetables and herbs that the cook prepares directly for you. Chairman of the jury and co-founder of the award Heleen van Poecke praised Alfieris for the narrative around their business model, the established partnerships, and his team. With the money, his team from Blauwe Bagger (Blue Dredge) will build an oven to bake PFAS-contaminated clay at a temperature where the PFAS disintegrates.