Three young entrepreneurs from Rotterdam came up with an air-purifying plant pot during their student days to combat air pollution in indoor spaces. Now Sander Bakx, Thomas Baks and Nick van Buijtenen have their own startup called OTree and their product is capable of completely purifying the air in workspaces and classrooms.
The idea for this innovative plant pot was born when Thomas Baks, then an Industrial Product Design student at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, started to suffer from the poor air quality in his student room. Because of this problem and out of his love for plants, he started researching. Thomas came across a study by space agency NASA that showed that plants can actively purify the air of toxins. A first draft was made during the Creative Engineering minor.
Choice
During the Creative Engineering minor, Thomas, Sander and Nick came up with three different products. They then consulted their network of entrepreneurs and stakeholders and researched which product had the most potential. In the end, the choice fell on the air-purifying plant pot.
Startup
When the three Rotterdam students were sure that they wanted to pursue the development of the air-purifying plant pot for indoor spaces, they decided to all three take another minor called Runway Startup to learn more about entrepreneurship, so that they could eventually successfully bring their product to the market. Since then, all three have graduated and are working as young entrepreneurs to further test and develop the product.
OTree Lilly
The startup is called OTree and its market currently consists of primary schools and office buildings. The air-purifying plant pot uses the natural power of a plant to filter indoor air. However, the air-purifying power of an ordinary houseplant is limited. 'You would then have to fill an average bedroom completely with ordinary houseplants to notice a difference. Then you'd be in an impassable jungle!" explains Nick. Independent laboratory Phytagoras has proven that the OTree Lilly purifies indoor air 50 times better than one ordinary houseplant. Thomas, Sander and Nick's vision is clear: 'We want to innovate with nature and not away from it.'
The power of nature
The gentlemen believe in the power of nature. They believe OTree is distinctive compared to air purification systems on the market. The air-purifying plant pot, OTree Lilly, absorbs indoor air and then rids it of CO2, toxins and particulates. The plant then distributes clean, filtered air throughout the room. The filters in the plant pot capture viruses as well as fine dust and bacteria. As a result, this innovation also helps combat the Corona virus.
Purifying in four steps
- The polluted air is first sucked through the pre-filter to catch large dirt particles such as hair and dust.
- According to the ISO16890 standard, the latest global guideline for filters, air is blown through the certified fine dust filters to filter particulate matter PM10.0, PM2.5 and PM1.0.
- As a result of evaporation, the air acquires a pleasant humidity.
- Around the plant's roots, billions of micro-organisms live in symbiosis with the plant. These micro-organisms break down toxins and, as a result, release nutrients to the plant, the so-called 'Phytoremediation process'.
Everything by himself
Despite OTree being ready for a bigger market launch, one should not think that the young entrepreneurs will have access to a large office building with their own staff. 'We just do everything ourselves, from designing to in-house production. Some of the purchased parts we get delivered and some we make ourselves with 3D printers or laser cutters. We then put all the parts together and take the finished product to the customer by van.'
The guys are still looking for investors to further professionalise their product and expand their sales market.
More information: www.otree.nl
