Creating the world leader in sustainable leather production

**描述/公司概述：**Qualus是皮革生产领域的清洁技术领导者，该行业的全球年营业额为520亿GB(650亿美元)。Qualus的专利系统使制革厂(皮革制造商)能够大幅减少生产所需的能源、水和化学品，从而提高利润率并降低环境足迹。该公司已经在欧洲和拉丁美洲的20家制革厂验证了其技术，签署了两份为期10年的合同，并于2019年第四季度开始产生收入。**问题：**皮革生产是水、化学和能源密集型的，这反过来又会产生大量的污水进行处理。据估计，全球皮革生产每年需要4000亿至5000亿升水，制革厂面临减少污染的市场和监管压力。制革厂必须适应，或者被他们的客户取代。现有的可持续解决方案缺乏竞争力，因为它们增加了生产成本，并对皮革质量产生了不利影响。**解决方案**：Qualus的专利保护系统使制革厂能够降低他们的环境足迹(在关键生产阶段减少15%至20%的能源、30%至40%的水、10%至15%的化学品、30%的废水)，同时还能降低成本并提高皮革质量。Qualus的Sferes(小型聚合物球体)取代了皮革生产过程中相当大比例的水，更有效地将化学物质输送到动物兽皮，从而减少了废水中的化学成分，减轻了处理厂的负荷。通过这样做，QUALUS将制革厂的利润率提高了40%到90%。**COVID 19效应**：新冠肺炎疫情对皮革制革行业和ESTR有限公司产生了重大影响。皮革的主要市场是鞋类、时尚、汽车和航空航天。所有这些行业的需求都下降了50%以上，利润率面临巨大的下行压力，在疫情爆发前，利润率在5%至10%的范围内。这与减少皮革对环境影响的全球压力相结合。ESTR专利技术是为数不多的能够对皮革生产产生革命性影响的技术之一。挑战是降低用于处理和清洁雪貂的设备的成本。同时使远程安装变得容易。这是因为主要客户在巴西、墨西哥、意大利和亚洲，所有这些地区都受到了新冠肺炎的严重影响。**项目**：ESTR项目是开发和现场测试新版本的SFERE清洁和处理系统。其目的是将新的概念和创新应用于现有的专利制度。目标是将单位成本降低75%，设计成批量生产的系统，并简化安装。它将包括详细的设计、建造、测试和现场测试，以验证该技术。

**Description/Company Overview:**Qualus is the cleantech leader in leather production, an industry with a global annual turnover of £52 billion (US $65 billion). Qualus' patented system enables tanners (leather manufacturers) to boost margins and lower their environmental footprint by significantly reducing the energy, water and chemicals required for production. The company has validated its technology with 20 tanneries in Europe and Latin America, has signed two 10-year contracts, and is revenue generating as of Q4 2019\.**The Problem:**Leather production is water, chemical and energy intensive, which in turn creates large volumes of effluent for treatment. An estimated 400 to 500 billion litres of water are required globally for leather production each year and tanners face market and regulatory pressure to reduce pollution. Tanneries MUST adapt or be replaced by their customers. Existing sustainable solutions are noncompetitive because they increase production costs and adversely affect the quality of the leather.**The Solution**:Qualus' patent protected system enables tanners to lower their environmental footprint (15% to 20% less energy, 30% to 40% less water, 10% to 15% less chemicals, 30% less effluent in key production stages) while also reducing costs and improving the quality of the leather. Qualus' Sferes (small polymer spheroids) replace a significant percentage of water in the leather production process and are more effective in delivering chemicals to the animal hides, resulting in effluent with less chemical component and reduced load on the treatment plant. In so doing, Qualus boosts tanners' margins by 40% to 90%.**COVID 19 Effect**:The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a major effect on the leather tanning industry and ESTR Limited. The main markets for leather are footwear, fashion, automotive and aerospace. All these industries are seeing a drop in demand by over 50% and massive downward pressure on margins which were in the 5% to 10% range before the pandemic. This is combined with global pressure to reduce the environmental impact of leather. The ESTR patented technology is one of the few technologies which can have a trans formative effect on leather production. The challenge is reducing the cost of the equipment used to handle and clean the Sferes. Whilst making it easy to install remotely. This is driven by the fact the main customers are in Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Asia, all of which have been heavily affected by COVID-19\.**The Project**:The ESTR project is to develop and field test a new version of the Sfere cleaning and handling system. The aim is to apply new concepts and innovations to the existing patented system. The target is to reduce the unit cost by 75%, design the system for volume production and simplify installation. It will involve detail design, build, testing and field testing to validate the technology.