Alwe a unique and natural wall decor, by Solaga
Bring nature back into your home ! And support our innovative and green start-up
SOLAGA is a young German biotechnology startup, working on extraordinary biological structures; microalgal biofilms. We created Alwe, an interior design element harboring a living biofilm. Alwe is an aesthetic miniature ecosystem that has been designed as a green wall decor that will bring nature back into your home. Alwe is the first step in our endeavor to transform grey urban spaces into green areas. We have big ambitions and want to further develop this concept . For that we need you!
15,142 €
Fundingsum
81
Supporters
Charlott Roth
Projektberater
"Impressively pulled through this crowd financing phase."
About this project
Funding period
9/4/18
2:35 PM
-
10/14/18
11:59 PM
Realisation
August 30 to October 5
Start level
15,000 €
Your contribution will help Solaga grow and further develop Alwe. More specifically, it will finance research on its impact on the quality of indoor air.
Category
Design
City
Berlin
What is this project all about?
Change starts with you and your home. Although we evolved living close to nature,our urban environment is now nearly devoid of natural elements. .
Us, the Solaga team want to provide you with a functional and aesthetic way of introducing one of nature’s most efficient organisms, algae, into our living space.
So we invented Alwe.
Why is Alwe so special ?
- Alwe uses awesome natural microorganisms
The living heart of Alwe is the microalgal biofilm. Unlike plants they don´t need too much sunlight, which makes Alwe perfect for interior decor! They have really interesting characteristics, and an exciting air cleansing potential that we are investigating in our lab at the moment. With no need for particular care, it's a unique (limited edition) decor that will make your living space special without much effort !
- Alwe is easy
If you like vertical gardening then Alwe is for you. Alwe does not need particular care and is clean. Indeed there is no need for more earth or cutting leaves.
- Alwe brings nature in your home !
Alwe is the world´s first interior element allowing you to witness the outstanding capabilities of biofilms.
Watch its different shades of green evolve as time passes!
- Alwe is space efficient
With living space becoming smaller and exploding city populations, nature has little place left to thrive. The design of Alwe allows nature to more efficiently blend in to our everyday lives.
- Alwe is robust
Our product is robust and long lasting, a result of expertise, technology, passion and design.
Actually, biofilms have shown unprecedented robustness lasting for years.
- Alwe evolves and so do we
The biofilms tend to adapt to their local environment, giving them a unique color in any given home.
The product itself is evolving! We plan to take Alwe further and release new generation Alwes in the future. Our goal is to support the transformation of our urban space and bring natural elements back into our homes. Let´s work together to improve our quality of life !
What is the project goal and who is the project for?
For the world
We want to push our technology to its maximal potential. Our goal is to develop sustainable systems, such as indoor and outdoor air filters based on natural biofilms. Additionally, we are conducting research on the production of renewable energy thanks to biofilms, by converting light and CO2 into biogas. For these projects there is still a lot to do and scaling up our biofilm production is just the first step. We are in need of equipment and manpower to translate our ideas faster into reality. For this mission, we crucially need your support.
For us
Your support in Alwe gives us courage and financial support we need to keep growing. Who are we? Solaga is a team of passionate scientists, engineers and visionaries, very aware of today’s environmental issues and with a big heart for green innovations.
For you
We also wish for biofilms to be accessible to everyone, and to standardize their presence in our homes and work spaces. We want to grow a community to learn more about your ideas and interactions with this new natural systems. Your expectations, desires and worries are the center of our focus.
Why would you support this project?
Sharing values and aspirations
We want to build a community around our project that shares our values and aspires to a better quality of life.
So welcome to our project and thank you for your interest! Let's together, make something great.
Support innovative science
More than being just elegant green wall decor, Alwe is a unique hybrid between technology and nature. Alwe is the emblem of our team, our hard work and our aspirations. Rigorous and precise science conjoint with conscientious and forward-thinking.
We, Solaga, are determined to find solutions and green alternatives thanks to biofilms.
Tackling urgent issues
We are all concerned about our environment and its impact on our health. The WHO estimates that 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds WHO guideline limits and that 4.2 million deaths every year are a result of exposure to ambient (outdoor) air pollution. Our biofilms have a great potential as air cleansers, thanks to their uptake of dangerous pollutants. More research has to be done for our biofilm’s potential to be fully met. Let’s invest in natural systems rather than ventilating machines.
How will we use the money if the project is successfully funded?
Making big dreams happen in a small lab
We will first of all we need more means to upscale our production and develop our biofilms. This includes both workshop equipment, precise scientific tools and more manpower.
We are also determined to making Alwe sustainable in every step of it´s life, from it´s conception to it´s maintenance.
This is a value we firmly want to commit to and for this we need your extra support!
Moreover, we want to finance research on the impact of biofilms on indoor air pollution. It is a well known fact that indoor air quality is worse than outdoor air. Biofilms can help by taking in this pollution.
Thanks to you we could get this crucial data!
Our vision of the future
And we have bigger dreams. The money raised is going to be used to further develop our very promising biofilm projects. Building outdoor green panels, producing energy thanks to them...the sky is the limit! Indeed, biofilms have fantastic properties that have yet to be explored.
We wish for everyone to be able to enjoy and own an Alwe, not only in homes but also offices, and public places like your local library.
We are all very excited about these future projects and hope you will be too.
Who are the people behind the project?
Our Team
A few years ago, Solaga’s founders Ben and Johann stumbled upon this little known natural structure : biofilms. In 2015 our founders made their university project a reality.
Magnus, our prototype expert, Jacqui and Stefan, our brilliant biotechnology and biofilm specialists have since joined the team. Julia will also be doing her master thesis at Solaga. You have seen part of our team in the video.We have all vowed to developing our biofilm’s countless amazing properties.
Two patents have been filed, and outdoor pilot systems are being tested.
Our startup has been growing year by year, winning awards, recruiting, acquiring more equipment. This year we have had the chance of working in a new office and lab.
Our Partners
Local and European institutions are already backing us. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)and the CLAAS Foundation provide support to young talents and innovators like us and helped us to launch this startup.
GASAG AG is the largest municipal gas supply company in Western Europe. InnoEnergy Business Creation is Europe's largest accelerator in the field of sustainable energy. They have both vowed to help reduce CO2 emissions by finding sustainable resources. They see the potential in our projects in answering this major issue.
Besides financial support we are very proud of having our friends at the ufaFabrik who share the same ideas of sustainable living. You can actually come to visit any time ! Their area is used not only for cultural but also for innovative projects.
