The fourth edition of the London-based Polish Tech Day is over, and so we’ve found out this year’s laureates of the Pitch To London annual startup contest. Each year, the event gathers a jugy of leading British and international investors to award the most original and promising projects from the Polish startup scene.

Each of the contestants had 5 minutes to present impress the judges with their business plans. Startups such as an interactive mirror developer Abyss Glass, TIMATE with their system for clocking in work hours, and ShelfWise with their idea for automating the world of retail, took to the stage. During their grading process, the jury had taken into account the originality of the projects, their business potential, as well as the quality of the startup’s stage presentation.

After a session of careful deliberation by the panel, Handerek Technologies emerged as a clear winner with their idea for biofuel made from plastic waste. The judges were charmed by the startup’s mission of “fueling the circular economy by converting waste into energy resources”. As stated on their website, Handerek Technologies’ technology utilizes non recyclable waste plastic into “fully refined diesel and gasoline fractions at atmospheric pressure”. The end product is not only commercially attractive, but also self-sufficient, and devoid of unusable waste by-products. According to the startup, their technology can produce 1 litre of fuel from just one Kilogram of waste plastics.

Polish Tech Day was filled to the brim with inspiring ideas, thought-provoking panels, and the positive energy of the best Polish startups. What a fantastic day! We’re proud to be chosen from this phenomenal line-up of startups led by people driven by passion for their entreprises – stated Susan Kim-Chomicka of Handerek Technologies.

As for the prize, the winning startup received a monetary reward of 2500 GBP, funded by the contest’s strategic partner – mBank. To support the further growth of Handerek Technologies, Brand24, SoTrender, Netguru, and Willis Integrated have also contributed a package of tools and services to the prize, at a shared value of 15 000 GBP.

Apart from awarding the grand prize, the judges have also decided to distinct two runner-ups: Biolumo, whose technology enables doctors to pick the best-suited antibiotic for any specific patient, and Genomtec – the developer of a molecular diagnostic device capable of detecting pathogens in DNA and RNA samples.

Congrats to all of the winning projects! For more information about Polish Tech Day, feel free to check out their website.