Missing link to market brilliant idea

Delft Innovation Award

30 June 2011 by YES!Delft

For dr. Henk Jonkers (Civil Engineering and Geosciences) winning the Delft Innovation Award 2009 was of crucial importance. Already he had shown that his self-healing concrete proved to work in a lab. But the valorization bonus that came with the award was the ‘missing link’ to put his invention on the market.

How to find funding to turn a brilliant idea into an innovation?

After four years of research Jonkers reached a milestone by showing that his bacteria could heal concrete. However, the industry was still hesitant to finance further research. Because they wondered if it could be used on a large scale. It worked in a lab, but what about a real structure? A lot of inventions face this problem. How to find funding to turn a brilliant idea into an innovation?

“Winning the Delft Innovation Award and the valorisation bonus made it possible to take the first important steps out of the lab towards the market. It was the missing link. I don’t know how I could have done this without the bonus.”

A combination of biology and civil engineering

Jonkers points at a crack in the Civil Engineering and Geosciences building. “After a certain period of time cracks like this occur in all concrete structures” says Jonkers. “Water and chemicals damage the concrete. Therefore it needs to be renovated. I discovered a bacterium that is inactive until it gets into contact with water. When a crack occurs and water enters the concrete, the bacterium and added food turn the water into calcium-carbonate and improve the durability of the structure. It is a combination of biology and civil engineering.”

To produce on a larger scale

Jonkers invested the bonus in finding ways to produce bio-concrete on a larger scale. He spent a part of the money on buying chemicals and several devices to turn the bacteria into tablets. Jonkers: “It is a challenge to make small tablets, that could easily be mixed with the concrete. When cracks occur, the tablets open and the bacteria start the healing process. The market will only adopt the product if it is cost efficient. Therefore I have to make sure the tablets are as cheap as the concrete. For one cubic meter 15 kilograms of tablets are necessary. At the moment one cubic meter costs eighty euro, our additive should not cost more.”

Jonkers also used the valorisation bonus to visit companies all over the world to ask for contributions. “A lot of them already knew me because of articles that were published in international media after winning the award.” The Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, German television broadcaster ZDF and several international specialist journals interviewed him.

Concrete is for different purposes

Jonkers is talking to the industry to see what their needs are. “All over the world concrete is being used for different purposes. Take a bridge in the Middle East. The concrete needs to adjust to temperature changes. During the day it can get very hot, at night it’s freezing. Concrete used in a cellar is a completely different story. It has to keep the water out and does not have to deal with huge temperature changes. To be sure that my bacteria work in the different kinds of concrete and atmospheres a lot of testing needs to be done.”

The Delft Innovation Award

The future is bright. “Currently several Ph.D’s and a postdoc are further developing the material. Meanwhile I am talking to the industry about financing more research. We still need to take important steps, before the bio-concrete can be used. But we’re on our way to be able to use the bacteria in real structures thanks to winning the Delft Innovation Award.”