Project description
An eco-friendly alternative to fluorocarbon-based ski wax
The secret to making skis and snowboards last longer and go faster is wax. The environmental downside to waxing the planks is the presence of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in various non-stick coatings. Studies reveal the risks to human health and wildlife. Also, PFCs don’t break down in soil, sediment or groundwater. This is why the EU-funded NZERO project has developed a natural bio-degradable ski wax, which it will now start to market. There is a wax for each type of user – alpine skiing, cross country and snowboarding – and for different types of snow. The project will investigate markets and channels to promote commercialisation. NZERO waxes have been tested by professionals to ensure a better glide and control.
Objective
Every year skiers, cyclists and surfers go to enjoy the great outdoors. What they often not realise is that the waxes and lubricants that their equipment uses are made from oil and that they are depositing damaging hydrocarbons in the environment. These deposits damage the soil composition and poison fresh water reducing species, restricting plant growth and limit biodiversity. As such it can also enter the human food chain and cause serious harm to the body. So the very thing that outdoor sports practitioners crave and love to be in contact with (the environment), they are damaging.
Marteen Sports World has been founded with the objective to reduce such chemicals and oil in nature. We have developed the world´s first fully natural bio-degradable ski wax for which we have received a coveted ISPO and an eco-ski award. We now request SME Instrument funding to develop product for a new sports category and to fully investigate markets and channels to maximise our success and scale our company. By 2023 we predict sales of 5.6M EUR and growth to 26 employees, this is important to us, but we are also really driven to foster better understanding and the take-up of environmentally friendly outdoor materials for other sectors such as biking, surfing etc.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
08018 BARCELONA
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.