RISE Educational Project: Palmi’s “Alvaro” High School wins with “Gine-Start,” the idea of thermal insulation panels made of lime and broom fiber

Rome – The 5AS class of the Corrado Alvaro High School in Palmi (Reggio Calabria) won first place and €500 in school supplies in the RISE – Rising Innovators for a Sustainable Environment — contest with Gine-Start, a start-up model dedicated to the artisanal production of exterior and interior thermal insulation panels made with a combination of lime and broom fibers. The students Emanuele Barone, Ilenia Cannistrà, Elisa Papalia, Clara Ranieri, and Elisa Saffioti, coordinated by professor Fabio Domenico Palumbo, participated in the design of the project that presents a sustainable and natural alternative for the green building sector.

The contest

RISE – Rising Innovators for a Sustainable Environment – was developed by the WITHUB publishing group in collaboration with the Italian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce and the support of the European Commission. The project explores the themes of Sustainable Development and Digital Citizenship and aims to inspire high school students to actively participate in developing new ecological solutions. The RISE project gave students the unique opportunity to dialogue with innovative start-ups in the field of sustainability and learn the techniques of presenting an emerging business idea, the so-called “pitch.”  In addition to offering materials on sustainability, ecological transition, and combating climate change, the educational program allowed students to participate in two webinars held by members of some of the most innovative start-ups active in the environmental field. At the end of the project, the classes that joined the initiative were invited to participate in a Contest, a “start-up pitch,” involving the development of an innovative start-up idea.

The winning project

Gine-Start is the result of a collaboration with the Parco Diffuso della Conoscenza e del Benessere (the Widespread Park of Knowledge and Well-being) of Pellaro (RC), a supplier of raw materials and home of the craft workshops of the Palmi school, and it features a short supply chain and low environmental impact. Indeed, the production enhances the natural and renewable resources of the Calabrian territory. The quality and efficiency of the panels are optimized through a combination of the artisanal production of the Park and the consultancy of the University of Calabria and the academic incubator Technest (UniCal) while keeping the focus on sustainability and innovation. According to the study the students conducted, the lime-broom panels offer excellent thermal and acoustic insulation, offering several advantages over solutions already on the market. For example, they reduce noise more than polystyrene panels. They are more resistant to moisture and mold growth while ensuring the right temperature during summer and winter. The start-up conceived by the students from Calabria also includes a detailed production cost sheet for 1,000 panels and a market analysis benchmarking the costs of other heat-insulating panels on the market. Complete with an already-designed logo, the start-up may already be ready for market testing.