EEP Award for Inventive Oil Spills Response Method

The Swiss company HeiQ Materials has won an EEP Award for Oilguard, a new fabric that aids oil spill relief efforts. The EEP Award is an initiative of European Environmental Press (EEP) in conjunction with the French environmental trade show Pollutec, with the support of ENEP (formerly EFAEP, the European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals).  

HeiQ Materials was nominated for Oilguard, a water-repellent, oil-absorbent textile devised to help combat oil spills. Each piece of this innovative material is up to 2m wide and roughly 200m long. That means the solution can be rapidly rolled out over vast stretches of shoreline when an oil spill occurs. As a result, precious coastal ecosystems can be protected from contamination.

HeiQ and its partners TWE and BST developed Oilguard in response to the devastation caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. With great success: the brand-new material was trialled in the Gulf of Mexico and proved to be effective.

This annual prize is designed to commend European companies that are leveraging new technologies to benefit the environment. Competitors come from a wide range of sectors, including waste, energy and wastewater. The criterion for entry is an innovative product recently launched on the market.

 

HeiQ Materials was on the shortlist for the 2011 EEP Award, along with ZenRobotics from Finland and Waydip - Energia e Ambiente from Portugal.

 

In a close-fought competition, HeiQ Materials received the Silver Award, while the Gold and Bronze awards were given to ZenRobotics and Waydip respectively.

HeiQ is already the winner of the Swiss Technology Award.