The team “SYLVARUM” won first place in the 12th edition of the IB50K contest. The “RNAGRO” and “PHYSENS” projects obtained second and third place. On the final day, which was open to the general public and which took place in the Assembly Hall of the Balseiro Institute (IB), in the Bariloche Atomic Center (CAB) presented businessmen, technologists and academics and spoke about the keys to generating technology-based companies. At the end of the round of presentations, the award ceremony was held with the presence of the representatives of the ten finalist teams. The match was also broadcast live on the contest’s YouTube channel.
After going through different stages of evaluation, the ten finalist teams learned the final decision of the jury of the IB50K contest. The members of the jury highlighted the passion of the selection process due to the quality of the presentations. At the closing of the meeting that was lived in person and virtually, the award ceremony of this contest was held.
In this edition, the first three prizes were awarded the equivalent of more than US$50,000 and special prizes were also awarded such as monetary contributions, training, technological services, and mentoring.. “It is an award that has promoted the creation of technology-based companies and it is a pride to accompany them,” said the president of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) Adriana Serquis. For his part, the director of the Balseiro Institute (IB) Mariano Cantero stressed “the Balseiro Institute depends on the CNEA and the National University of Cuyo, whose main mission is to train human resources and generate knowledge, but we are committed and want to see how these human resources and knowledge generated in the institute impact the development of the country and to improve the lives of citizens. And the IB50Kthe IB Secretariat for Innovation and Liaison, is a door in this sense, because technology-based companies are a tool through which this knowledge, this training of people can generate products and services that have an impact on the development of the country”.
The winning teams. The company “SYLVARUM”, which received the first prize of the IB50K 2022, develops a technology that uses electrical and magnetic stimuli to directly influence plant metabolism. This biological-technological intersection allows them to carry out an exhaustive control of what happens inside the plant to enhance its natural capacities, being able to: accelerate its growth, improve its resistance against diseases or pests, and influence the production of metabolites and/or nutritional components. The proposed technical solution can work with all the variety of vegetables that are produced in hydroponic systems, both in the field of food and in that of medicinal plants. Thus, they seek to solve the biggest problems that producers have, making hydroponics a more profitable, scalable and sustainable business.
This innovative development is driven by a team made up of students and graduates of the National University of Tucuman Y Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North.
The business planRNAGRO”, who received the second prize, aims to produce RNA-based technologies for peanut cultivation. RNAgro’s non-transgenic technology will reduce and replace the use of agrochemicals in peanut cultivation. In this way, it seeks to generate a new family of fungicides that are effective, as well as friendly to the environment and human health. This team was represented by entrepreneurial scientists with skills and experience of more than 5 years in science, which will allow them to develop new technologies for agriculture.
The business planPhysens” won the third prize. His team proposes a physiatry and kinesiology project with wireless connection. The equipment can be configured, monitored and controlled through devices with internet connection, thus allowing the rehabilitation of patients at a distance, in real or deferred time. The team was formed in the National University of Rosario, Universidad del Gran Rosario, International and Permanent University of Manual Therapy – Saint Mont France and Universidad Católica Argentina. The jury of the IB50K contest was chaired by the director of the Balseiro Institute, Mariano Cantero and the bioengineer Alejandra Morales (UNER Faculty of Engineering); Lisandro Brilangel investor and venture capital fund manager in technology startups; Stephen Lombardipresident of Terragene; Paula AltavillaCountry President of Schneider Electric Argentina and Conrado Varotto, founder and conductor of INVAP (1976-1991).
