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Portuguese company in the winning project of the EUREKA Innovation Award 2013

Ambimed, a Portuguese company dedicated to the integrated management of hospital waste is one of the partners of the project that won this year's edition of the EUREKA Innovation Award. Led by a Spanish company, Athisa, the MIMO project has developed a clean medical waste treatment system, with vast advantages over conventional incineration and autoclave systems, which consume large amounts of fossil fuels. The MIMO system combines mechanical (grinding and shredding) and chemical (oxidation and stabilization) treatments to treat three types of medical waste: infectious waste (such as blood, syringes, and scalpels), oncology treatment waste, and other pharmaceutical waste (such as expired drugs). The system costs 75% less to build than an incineration plant, has half the operating costs, and processes four times more toxic waste per hour than an incinerator. The first plant is being built in Casablanca, Morocco, and there is already interest from the Turkish authorities, and plans to expand to Vietnam and Algeria in the near future.

EUREKA is a platform for R&D companies from 39 countries. It promotes market-oriented international research and innovation through support for companies, universities and research centers. In Portugal, FCT has assumed the participation in the platform, previously the responsibility of AdI.