The consortium of Levels Diagnostics, Omnigen and SG Papertronics has been granted the MIT R&D collaboration grant.

The consortium of Levels Diagnostics, Omnigen and SG Papertronics has been granted the MIT R&D collaboration grant.

By combining expertise in clinical biomarker development, bioinformatics and paper based microfluidics the consortium will develop a novel liver damage assay.

Over the course of 2 years the consortium filled with young and ambitious SMEs will develop a test that can quickly and easily identify early signs of liver damage in patients resulting in reduction of treatment costs and the optimisation of treatment.

Conditions resulting from damaged liver are a huge societal burden resulting in increase of costs for the healthcare, therefore robust and quick screening testing for liver damage would provide a viable solution to the problem.

The grant proposal has been ranked in the top 10 of applications within the region. The total associated project budget is €1.000.000. And the province of Zuid Holland will be awarding a subsidy of €349.996 towards the project for the realisation of its goals and deliverables.

SG Papertronics B.V. and EV Biotech rose to the challenge and were rewarded with the MIT R&D subsidy.

SG Papertronics B.V. and EV Biotech rose to the challenge and were rewarded with the MIT R&D subsidy.

Some good news to share. In the one year project, we will develop a glucose sensor for microbial fermentation.

Thorough control over any process that involves living organisms is essential to its success. Therefore, having a chance to frequently check how much food for your microorganisms left is of the highest importance. The problem with frequent control is its cost and labour involved, in addition, if we are considering experimental cultures which by nature are small, the volume of medium used for testing is becoming a problem which means that you will use medium for testing instead of feeding your microorganism.

Together with EV Biotech, we will take a close look into addressing these issues with our testing system. Our goal is to reduce volume of the samples necessary for glucose testing and labour related to the performance of the test. We will apply our microfluidic knowledge to meet these goals and create a user-friendly solution that EV Biotech will be able to quickly validate and apply for their microbial strain optimization.

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Winning pitch at Pitch Camp by Flinc

Winning pitch at Pitch Camp by Flinc

Rapid testing of craft beer.

This is what SG Papertronics specializes in. Once again, we had the opportunity to present our innovative product. This time – at Pitch Camp by Flinc.
The result are: enthusiastic brewers, interest from the market and the profit in the brand-new Flinc Pitch Camp – a favorable loan of 20 000 euros.

We are very grateful that we got another chance to improve the pace of development of our device. As our COO, Richard Rushby, said at the event, we are convinced we can use the prize it to speed up our plans, namely to further improve our product and make it to the market.

The technology we are working on has again been recognized as innovative and worth appreciating. It is particularly important for us, as the competition was fierce and in the final, when we met Flow Money Automation, we were not sure of our victory until the very last moment.

However, the jury chairman Bjorn Redmeijer, project manager at Flinc, stated: 

We have concluded that Papertronics can take the biggest step with the prize money.

Bjorn Redmeijer

Jury Chairman/Project Manager, Flinc

Winning pitch.

The event – which was held digitally due to current situation in the country – was preceded by a period of intensive preparation. Our management team received pitch training, we were coached by Flinc and assisted in their plans and forecasts.

On Oct 29th, we gave a 15-minute presentation on camera, from a studio in Leeuwarden. Two of the best startups had to stand in front of the lens again in the final to answer questions from the jury, consisting of representatives of NOM, Flinc and an external investor.  Our CEO found this as a surprisingly new experience:

Very exciting. I have spoken to more than a thousand people. I didn’t find that scary at all, but such a camera is much more terrifying.

Maciej Grajewski

CEO/CTO, SGPapertronics

SG Papertronics is working on developing Intuitive, Portable and Accurate device and the test system that can fathom brewed beer in a few minutes. The amount of alcohol, the acidity, the content of sugar, the color, the bitterness… these are all registered very quickly. And that helps brewers enormously to maintain or improve the quality of their beer.

The NOM and RUG Holding are jointly making an early-phase investment

The NOM and RUG Holding are jointly making an early-phase investment

The Beer-O-Meter gives small brewers a boost 

With the Beer-O-Meter, Groningen’s SG Papertronics ensures that craft beer brewers can supply the highest quality beer. With this simple but high-quality plug-and-play testing system, we can register and analyse many values on the spot, such as colour, bitterness, acidity, sugar content and alcohol, within minutes.

For the fast-growing sector of craft beer brewers, the test system is a game changer, according to the founder of SG Papertronics, Maciej Grajewski. Continuous quality of the beer normally requires laboratory and trained personnelThe costs are simply too high for most craft breweries. 

This test system, the Beer-O-Meter, makes a huge difference in costs and will also enable brewers to develop new specialty beers more quickly. The analysis will help the growing crowd of craft brewers to produce innovative beer of high and, above all, continuous quality.

The Beer-O-Meter has great potential which the NOM and RUG Holding also see. Jointly, they are making an early-phase investment in the development of our system.

It is precisely in the very first phase that no money is made, but a good product is produced. Soon, when the first paying customers arrive, other investors will follow too. We are now helping SG Papertronics through a difficult period. The risk of such early-phase investments is high and little capital is available in the market for this. We see an important role for the NOM in this; driving innovation.

Dina Boonstra

General Director, NOM

The NOM and RUG Houdstermaatschappij (RHM) see the great potential of SG Papertronics, because the Beer-O-Meter technology can be used in many markets.

Maciek Grajewski has worked hard to complete the investment process. That was difficult for him because as a technician he had to sell a concept. But Grajewski does deliver.

Corina Prent

Director, RHM

Prent points out that the test system improves after each analysis through so-called “machine learning”.

Grajewski warmly welcomes the support of NOM and RHM. Thanks to them, we’ve been able to build a competent team that helps craft brewers brew the best beer within their reach“. 

SG Papertronics is already working together with two local brewers from Groningen: Martinus and BaxBier. The utility of the Beer-O-Meter is also recognized by the craft beer brewers. Several parties are already interested in our technology.

SG Papertronics will establish itself in Innolab Agrifood, an open innovation lab on Campus Groningen. The Campus ecosystem is proving itself once again, because investors and facilitators support the entrepreneurs.