Halocycle, a Hull-based technology scaleup which carries out advanced recycling of PVC and other chlorine-containing plastics, has beaten off competition from fast-growth businesses from across the UK to be crowned KPMG’s UK Tech Innovator 2024.
Close to 400 applications to the competition were reduced to a shortlist of 80 companies selected from regions across the UK to pitch in front of a panel of industry experts who selected one winner from eight UK regions to take part in the national final, held at KPMG’s headquarters in London last night.
Dr Henrietta Boyd, CEO and co-founder of Halocycle, impressed a panel of judges with an impactful presentation that demonstrated how her business was not just scalable and commercial but crucially how it was a solution to a fundamental global issue.
Halocycle, which has a mission to use innovative technology to provide a solution to the plastics problem, has a dedicated team who have spent a combined 40 years searching for answers to environmental and industrial issues.
The technology uses innovative processing as a means of recycling plastic, and particularly chlorine-containing plastic (PVC). The business wants to create a circular lifecycle for plastic – leading to a dramatic reduction in plastic waste entering landfill, incineration, or otherwise leaking into the environment.
Halocycle joins the impressive list of winners who have gone on to do great things, including companies such What3Words, Babylon Health, HiiROC and 2023 winner Innovus Medical.
The startup will now progress to the global stage of the competition in Lisbon alongside Web summit, to compete with tech innovators from 23 other countries. The winner of that stage of the competition will be crowned the Global Tech Innovator 2024.
“We are delighted to have won the Tech Innovator competition which was a great opportunity for Halocycle to showcase our technology, among a really strong cohort of regional finalists,” said Boyd. “We cannot wait to meet the other winners in Lisbon for the Global final and hope that winning this competition helps us to accelerate our journey to a circular economy for plastics.”
Nicole Lowe, UK head of KPMG’s Emerging Giants practice, said: “Halocycle is a fantastic example of a UK business that has a very commercial technology which could solve a huge and really important global issue. They impressed the judges with a superbly delivered pitch which clearly outlined the growth opportunities for their business but most crucially, the impact their technology could have on helping to address the world’s plastic waste problem.”
Lowe added: “All of our finalists demonstrated the vital work that our innovators across the UK are doing to address some of the world’s most pressing issues and deliver impact on a global scale. Our regional tech ecosystems are home to some great tech talent and innovation and play such a key role in their local economies and attracting global talent and investment to the UK.
“Halocycle exemplifies the work being done by passionate UK founders to address some of the most pressing issues impacting communities across the globe. We wish them every success as they move on to represent the UK at the global competition in Lisbon and with the exciting growth journey they have ahead of them.”
The nationwide competition, which is celebrating its 11th year, has uncovered tech innovators from ecosystems across the UK representing fintech, edtech, health tech and clean tech. Having shone a light on a host of tech success stories from across the country, the competition is also now in its fourth year of going global and has expanded to include technology innovators competing across over 23 countries representing major regions of the world.
The finalists representing eight regions across the UK were:
• Cellexcel Ltd – East of England winner
• Spinview – London winner
• Halocycle – North East winner
• Graphene Innovations Manchester – North West winner
• OGI Bio – Scotland winner
• Infinitopes – South Central winner
• Glaia – South West and Wales winner
• NetZeroNitrogen – Midlands winner
Paid partnership with KPMG UK.