Waterloo tire recycling startup wins prestigious tech award

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A University of Waterloo startup launched to commercialize an invention by Costas Tzoganakis, a chemical engineering professor, has been named one of the 2014 TiE50 winners. The prestigious TiE Silicon Valley honour is awarded to only 50 companies among thousands competing worldwide.

Costas Tzoganakis

With support from the University’s Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo), Tyromer Inc. was founded five years ago to marketTzoganakis' technology that chemically breaks down tire rubber so it’s suitable for reuse.

TiE50 is TiE Silicon Valley’s premier annual awards program entered by thousands of technology startups worldwide. Since the awards inception, TiE reports that 94 per cent of the winners and finalists have been funded, attracting billions of dollars in investments.

About 350 million scrap tires are generated each year in North America, but have proved difficult to recycle. Typically less than 20 per cent of a tire is used before disposal, making scrap tire management a global problem in need of an environmentally sustainable and financially viable solution.

Tyromer’s process uses carbon dioxide to selectively break the cross-

tire recycling equipment
linking sulfur bonds and bring about rapid devulcanization. In addition, Tyromer’s technology is helping to change the mindset and management of scrap tires around the world, shifting from a disposal approach to a resource recovery practice that will help provide a sustainable solution to a global problem.

“The Tyromer technology is revolutionizing the way scrap tires, and potentially other rubber products, are discarded. They are an example of how research from this University is transforming the world in which we live,” said D. George Dixon, vice-president, university research at Waterloo. “Professor Tzoganakis’ invention will allow companies worldwide to reduce their manufacturing carbon footprint. Being named a TiE50 winner demonstrates confidence in Tyromer as a leader in solving the global scrap tire problem and developing a process for the economic harvest of a renewable resource.”