In late October 2021, the student team TermoSyla from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) took second place in the international eco startups tournament between Ukrainian and German, which was supported by the Bavarian Academic Center and the project “German-Ukrainian Transfer Technology University Partnership”.
The TermoSyla team presented the startup entitled “Greenhouse of the Future: Autonomy and Resource Conservation” developed under the guidance of Associate Professor Lesya Demchenko.
The startup offers a new resource conservation method for creating and maintaining a microclimate in greenhouses by means of self-regulating devices that operate by smart shape memory alloys (smart materials).
At the international level, KPI students Roman Leheza and Ihor Besedin, members of the FLAZ team led by Associate Professor Demchenko, reached the finals of the global startup competition “Innovation Race for Sustainability”, which was held in Frankfurt in July 2019, with the other project – “Extra Pure Oil Extraction”. FLAZ certified innovative equipment for improving the extraction of medicinal substances from plant seeds that have a low oil content. Existent processes destroy valuable nutrients while extracting from low-oil seeds. And the new technology aims to increase efficiency and substance quality while increasing the income and capacity of local farms.
“Competitions always inspire young talents with fresh ideas, allow them to learn about new eco-trends and innovations, find environmentally conscious partners and like-minded people,” says Lesya Demchenko.