Edinburgh entrepreneur scoops top accolade and cash
Douglas Martin founded and is managing director of MiAlgae, beating five other national finalists to take home the top prize, win a total of £30,000 and a programme of business development support from Shell.
The equity-free funding will help the business to develop its product which uses by-products of the whisky industry to grow micro-algae which can then be used to farm fish. This reduces the environmental impact of the distilleries while simultaneously producing valuable nutrients at affordable prices.
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Hide AdShell LiveWire has been running in the UK since 1982 and in that time has made 5,145 monetary awards and provided £5 million of funding.
Martin said: “Being named as the Shell LiveWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year is such an exciting moment for MiAlgae. The £30,000 comes at a crucial moment and will allow us to further develop our technology and reach our goal of getting MiAlgae to commercial scale.”
Jane Pritchard, chair of the judging panel, said: “The standard was extremely high and testament to the dynamism of the UK low-carbon SME sector.”
She added: “MiAlgae is an incredibly impressive business and I have no doubt of its potential to thrive and make a significant contribution to the energy transition.”