Amsterdam Science and Innovation award for BOR-LYTE

19 June 2025

On Tuesday, 17 June, Florenz Buß of the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences received an Amsterdam Science and Innovation Award in the in the Environment & Climate category. He convinced the jury of the plans to produce sustainable battery electrolytes with the start-up company BOR-LYTE. It earns him €10,000 to further develop the innovation and bring it closer to real-world impact.

BOR-LYTE develops borate electrolytes for more environmentally friendly sodium-ion batteries, using boron ore and industrial boron waste. This will reduce the environmental impact and dependence on scarce materials, providing a safer and more sustainable alternative to lithium-based systems. Postdoctoral researcher Florenz Buß started the company earlier this year in close cooperation with Valentin Geiger, Bas de Jong and Chris Slootweg.

The three winners of an Amsterdam Science and Innovation award with Florenz Buß at the left. In the centre is Anouk Post of the company LightUp that develops a pill-sized camera for the early detection of esophageal cancer (category Health). At the right is Pascal Koot of Readler, developing an AI-based digital assistant for speech therapy for children (category Society). Image: IXA.

The Amsterdam Science and Innovation awards are an initiative of Innovation Exchange Amsterdam (IXA). The Awards are a reward for innovative ideas from young scientists that are affiliated with Amsterdam’s universities and knowledge institutions. Nine finalists were selected to compete in three categories: Society, Health, and Environment & Climate. They pitched their ideas for a jury that assessed whether their ideas were innovative enough, could actually improve society, and were commercially viable.

Amsterdam Science and Innovation award for BOR-LYTE

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