Mexico. A group of students from Tecnológico de Monterrey (Tec) developed a painting that absorbs natural or artificial light and then reflects it, capable of illuminating its surroundings without using electrical energy.
The startup Armonett Pinturas, created by Tec students, made this project possible through the use of nanotechnology and organic compounds.
Students at the Monterrey campus seek to reduce electricity consumption and impact on the carbon footprint with their use in indoor lamps and urban spaces.
An advantage of this biophotoluminescent paint is that it can last up to 15 years. Another aspect that distinguishes them is that bioluminescent living organisms are not used, so their production costs are lower.
Recently, Armonett Pinturas, was one of the winners of the Santander Award for Business Innovation 2018 and received an award of 100 thousand pesos. "This is a small example of the power to transform our communities and shows that young people can change the world," says David Ramírez Colula, a founding member of this project.
The beginnings
The group of students investigated for a school project the functionality of absorbing light energy from UV rays and reflecting it through a painting. After presenting their project, the students won a scholarship to design a prototype. Then they won second place in the Energy BM Challenge and another scholarship for the Business Incubator of Tec de Monterrey.
"That's when we focused on designing a business plan, formalizing the project and looking for competitions to make ourselves known," explains Brando Valera, Marketing Director at Armonett. They participated in the Hult Prize, a renowned competition in social innovation, as well as in Xignux, where they won one million pesos to continue their research.
During the Santander Award, they faced several complicated challenges, such as changing their business pitch, according to Jessica Ramírez, a member of Armonett.
"But he was very fatherly, he helped us understand our project better, he helped us to have a clearer idea," Jessica said.
"It's never going to be the same to be inside a classroom than to bring all of that to real life. To begin to understand it, to understand it and to live it," he concluded.
The future
Armonett Pinturas, a company that began as a project in October 2017, is currently already constituted as a public limited company, having expectations of launching its painting for sale soon.
In addition, they are working on adding nanoparticles to paint to encapsulate CO2 and extend its use to industries.
The team
Armonett Pinturas is composed of:
Jessica Ramírez, who studies Engineering in Innovation and Development
Sofía Montaño, Project Manager and student of Industrial Design
David Ramírez, director of social innovation, student of Engineering in Innovation and Development
Brando Varela CMO, graduated in Industrial Design
José Manrique, Business Administration student at Anahuac Mexico, north campus.
Source: Tecnológico de Monterrey.
