Climate-KIC to help launch edible bottle

UK based start-up Skipping Rocks Labs has invented a new, sustainable way to store water using a biodegradable membrane.

The project, which has been funded by Climate-KIC, will be pitched at the Climate-KIC 2015 Venture Competition European semi-finals later this week.

Named Ooho!, the innovation is a gel that can be used to encase water using a process called spherification.

Up to a litre of water can be encased into the Ooho! bubble, with a double layer of membrane on the outside that prevents taste contamination.

The gel is made from a mixture of brown algae and calcium chloride, and is so biodegradable that it can be eaten once its contents have been used.

“At the end of the day you don’t have to eat it. But the edible part shows how natural it is. People are really enthusiastic about the fact that you can create a material for packaging matter that is so harmless that you can eat it,” Pierre Paslier, who invented the product with fellow students Rodrigo García González and Guillaume Couche, has said.

An Ooho! package is also very cheap, costing just 1p a unit.

The invention offers significant potential to replace traditional water bottles, which can have a damaging effect on the environment.

In 2008 alone, EU members, together with Norway and Switzerland, sent an estimated 12.1 million tonnes of plastic waste to landfill.

There is still a way to go if Ooho! is to make it to the market. The product is currently too delicate for mass production, but González sees this as an advantage.

"It's is very easy to make, that's one of the things we're trying to push forward. The project is licensed under Creative Commons so it's possible for everyone to do it at home. It's just like making a recipe"