University of Western Australia
A plastic alternative made from seaweed and a bioengineered human heart valve have been recognised at the Western Australia Innovators of the Year Awards on Monday night.
Dr Julia Reisser, from The University of Western Australia’s Ocean Institute, is the co-founder and co-CEO of Uluu, a start-up working to replace fossil plastics with natural materials.
Uluu was the RioTinto Emerging Innovation Winner and received the Business News Great for the State Platinum Award.
Using a novel saltwater fermentation process, Uluu has created an alternative to plastic made from farmed seaweed.
The plastic alternative is strong, lightweight and waterproof, while being truly biodegradable and biocompatible.
CoraMetix received the Wesfarmers Wellbeing Platinum Award for its bioengineered heart valves using a precise 3D-printing technique.
Co-founders Associate Professor Abdul Ihdayhid, from Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, and Associate Professor Elena Juan Pardo, a biomedical engineer, work with the spin-off company undertaking research at Perkins and supported by UWA.
The next-generation heart valve uses polymeric materials and automated 3D printing to deliver lifetime durability.
The design offers distinct advantages and value proposition over existing products and takes inspiration from the natural structural components found in human valves.
As finalists, Uluu and CoraMetix also took part in the Western Australia Innovators of the Year Awards Accelerator Program, which provided training and development workshops to guide them on how to grow their innovation businesses and take them to the next level.
Winners shared in a $240,000 prize pool that was divided between the category winners along with two runners up and three platinum award categories.