“This is the first time we will test our technology in real conditions, without simulating the event. Firefighters will be able to use the sorbent in response to real calls, and we expect detailed professional feedback: how the material works, where it is most convenient to apply, and whether the form should be changed. This knowledge will help to better adapt the product for oil spill cleanup,” says Dr. Tatjana Paulauskienė, head, founder, and co-author of InnoAerogel® at Inobiostar.
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From the laboratory to real work
Oil spill cleanup can vary greatly depending on circumstances – water flow, wind, temperature, amount and location of pollutants change. Therefore, laboratory-tested conditions are not enough to create the final product.
“The same river can be calm one time, and the next time we face completely different air or water conditions. Only real calls will show where this technology can be most useful and what else needs to be improved. Our observations will allow scientists to better adapt the product for collecting oil pollutants from water surfaces,” says Darius Černauskas, head of the 1st team of Klaipėda Fire and Rescue Department.
In developing InnoAerogel®, the goal is also to offer a more environmentally friendly means of collecting oil products. This can be especially relevant in cases where cleanup work takes place in sensitive water ecosystems, such as the Curonian Lagoon.
Tadas Rumševičius, head of the State Fire Supervision Division of the Klaipėda Fire and Rescue Department, emphasizes the benefit of local partnership. Firefighters in Klaipėda can directly discuss the technology with its developers, quickly get consultations, and provide their observations. Such cooperation allows the product to be improved together with its potential users.
Vidas Kerševičius, head of the Klaipėda Fire and Rescue Department, stresses that firefighters’ work is not limited to extinguishing fires.
“We perform many and very diverse rescue tasks. Among them are tasks related to environmental protection, when it is necessary to stop the spread of pollution, collect spilled oil products or other hazardous materials. Therefore, it is important for us to be interested in new solutions that could help perform such tasks faster, more efficiently, and with as little environmental harm as possible. Scientists develop new solutions, and firefighters can test them where it matters most – in real conditions – and help improve them with their experience. Such cooperation between science and firefighters can yield very practical results,” says V. Kerševičius.
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Science developed at KU is making its way to the market
According to Klaipėda University Rector Prof. Dr. Artūras Razbadauskas, this stage is important not only for a specific product – it shows how scientific solutions born at the university can be developed into real practical applications.
“The university’s task is not only to create new knowledge. Equally important is that it turns into solutions needed by people, business, and public services. The path of InnoAerogel® – from Klaipėda University laboratories to European recognition and now real trials with the Klaipėda Fire and Rescue Department – shows that our scientists’ competencies can create competitive technologies and tangible value for the region,” says Prof. Dr. A. Razbadauskas.
Inobiostar was founded in 2020 to develop the technology created by KU scientists into a market-ready product. The core of the startup consists of Klaipėda University scientists.
The naturally biodegradable sorbent InnoAerogel® with oil-degrading microorganisms isolated from the Baltic Sea is more sustainable and almost twice as effective as currently available fossil fuel-based analogs on the market.
In 2024, the InnoAerogel® project was awarded €2.3 million in support from the European Innovation Council’s “EIC Accelerator” program. The program is aimed at developing technologies with high innovation and commercial potential. Data and expert comments collected during the Klaipėda firefighters’ trials will be another step in preparing the technology for broader practical use.
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