MN Cup is an annual competition for entrepreneurs, researchers, and inventors run by the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. The competition connects emerging businesses with education, mentorship, and support to launch and accelerate the development of their new ventures.
As part of the competition, the MPCA offers a Sustainable Chemistry Prize of $10,000. The purpose of the prize is to increase sustainable chemistry awareness and innovation and to help those within Minnesota’s sustainable chemistry community connect with each other.
The MPCA has adopted the Expert Committee on Sustainable Chemistry's recent definition of sustainable chemistry — "the
The Sustainable Chemistry Prize is awarded to technologies and products that demonstrate safer or more sustainable chemistry than those already on the market providing the same function. Other judging criteria include:
- use of one or more green chemistry principles
- demonstrable potential to reduce a product's effect on public health, especially children, workers, or disadvantaged communities
- replacement of one or more Minnesota Chemicals of High Concern
Qualifying new technologies may be:
- new chemistry or formulations
- nonchemical technology that performs as needed without using hazardous substances (e.g., flame-resistant coating that doesn't use hazardous flame retardants)
- a production-method improvement that reduces toxicity in a product's life cycle
Candidate companies and technologies should be:
- at practical proof-of-concept stage (demonstration testing completed)
- commercial or have a planned path to commercialization
- in compliance with applicable MPCA regulations for the past three years
2024 winner
The winner of the 2024 MN Cup’s $10,000 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Prize was Revitri, a Minnesota company based in Willernie.
Revitri’s foam-structure glass beads offer many benefits over existing hollow glass beads, including improved crush resistance, lighter weight, and better thermal insulation. Revitri has also patented a production process that reduces energy input and allows the use of post-consumer glass that would otherwise go to the landfill.
These benefits, according to Revitri’s co-founders, could increase the range of electric vehicles, improve the energy efficiency of newly built houses, and reduce production costs of plastic components.
The unique chemistry behind the beads’ ability to bond glass with plastic impressed the MPCA judging team that awarded Revitri the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Prize.
Revitri will use the prize money toward building a pilot production plant in the Twin Cities metro area, where it will use up to 14 million pounds of crushed glass per year from a Minneapolis recycler.