Tyromer wins 2014 TiE50 award

Tyromer, spun out of Waterloo University in 2009, has been honoured with a 2014 TiE50 award. The competition is organised by TiE Silicon Valley, a non-profit organisation located in the San Francisco bay, and counts thousands of entries from across the world each year.

According to TiE – which initially stood for The Indus Entrepreneurs but now means talent, ideas and enterprise – 94% of the winners and finalists have been funded, attracting billions of dollars in investments. The award recognition raises Tyromer’s profile as a socially responsible and ecologically sustainable investment opportunity, which the company hopes will lead to a near-term funding deal.

Tyromer is the commercialisation of chemical engineering professor Costas Tzoganakis’s research. The technology devulcanises – that is, it chemically breaks down – tire rubber so it is suitable for reuse. About 350 million scrap tires are generated each year in North America, but have proved difficult to recycle. On average, less than 20% 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 is currently focused on taking the technology worldwide. In 2013, it granted its first licence in France and licences are pending in Croatia, Hungary, Spain, Russia as well as Turkey. Follow-on funding would allow the company execute its joint venture and licensing business model, capital it is now much more likely to attract.

Sam Visaisouk, CEO of Tyromer, and Entrepreneur in Residence at Waterloo’s TTO WatCo, said: “I’m pleased that Tyromer was selected as a prestigious TiE50 winner. At the same time, we are elated that the judges recognise the significance of our work, our vision, and the societal impact our technology can make.”