Incubator: Chalmers Ventures

Saving water saving the planet

Did you know that if you use a professional machine 5 days a week this consumes over 1.4 million liters of water?

With Mimbly, we can together save over 1 million of those liters.

– Working with a solution that affects many people and that could really make a difference is very exciting and motivational, Mimbly founder Isabella Palmgren explains.

Biotech business

With an educational background in Biotechnology, Entrepreneurship and Business Design from Chalmers University of Technology, Isabella is now running her own business.

– As an entrepreneur I am very driven, outgoing and hard working. To continuously learn and develop inspires me the most, which is something I have felt this past year when dealing with a lot of uncertainty and being part of creating something from the beginning.

The Mimbly journey began in May last year, with a lot of early iterations, Isabella tells us.

– Until we found a problem in society that we wanted to tackle. This was the unnecessary use of water when doing laundry. The two solutions we found were both to save water when washing a lot and to be able to wash more when water is scarce.

There are a lot of products on the market recycling water in the shower and dishwashing industry, Isabella continues:

– But there was no current solution for the laundry market, where some of the largest water savings can be done.

Powered by the Swedish Energy Agency

After deciding which area they wanted to focus on, the team started to develop their solution together with a technical expert, building their first prototype in the beginning of the year with funding from the Swedish Energy Agency.

– The prototype that we have built can recycle 79% of the water and save a lot of the energy by keeping the heat in the system, so that the water doesn't need to be heated as many degrees. While still giving the same clean results of the laundry.

Since, Mimbly has started working together with IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet, and Swerea to develop and test their product further.

– Helping us continue this journey is Energimyndigheten, Göteborg Energi and Climate-KIC that have all funded the project and Chalmers Ventures for helping develop the business, Isabella explains.

A Chalmers Ventures Startup

– Our toughest challenge so far has been the automatization of the system which we have worked on during the last few months, says Isabella and continues:

This is a discrimination system with programmed sensors, which we have further developed to make the product as smart as possible. This took longer time than anticipated and we have since then also added a new member to the group that will help us develop this part of the technology.

Mimbly is a part of Chalmers Ventures incubator that is located at Chalmers University of Technology.

– For me and Mimbly it has had a significant impact, by always supporting and encouraging us to move forward. They also provide us with legal and accounting help and a business coach that has worked in the industry and has experience that we lack.

– It is a great honor and opportunity to receive the 2017 Entrepreneurial Scholarship both personally and for Mimbly. This means that we can continue our journey and working with what I am passionate about.