July 13, 2020 — A Croatian company’s air filtration system won an “Inventions vs. Corona” contest.
Kristalna Ideja’s air filtration device, iTherapy, was awarded a gold medal at the international competition “Inventions VS Corona”, beating out 202 products from 35 countries.
The Split-based company’s product deactivates bioaerosols, bacteria and viruses in indoors, preventing their spread. At the same time, it enriches the air with negative ions and antioxidants, according to Index. It has been available on the market since 2016.
The “Inventions vs. Corona” competition was organized by the International Federation of Associations of Inventors and Inventions (IFIA), the umbrella world association of innovators founded in 1968.
“We must be aware of climate products and increasing levels of air pollution, which in turn affects our daily psychophysical condition,” said the company’s director Inga Kovačić Sindik.
The product arose based on market research of available filters since all previous products could not simultaneously fulfill two important functions: purification of indoor air from most pollutants, while being adapted for use in residential and commercial premises, hotels, hospitals, etc.
Tajana Kesić Šapić, Director of the Industry Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, points out that even before the crisis it was clear that the Croatian economy should not be based on economies of scale, but on innovations, especially in such uncertain times.
“Such achievements also help to strengthen the image of Croatia as a country of innovators,” said Kesić Šapić.
She also said that the company “Kristalna ideja” with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce participated in several fairs, at the Innovation Fair in Geneva 2018 and at the IENA Innovation Fair in Nuremberg the same year.
At that time, Kovačić Sindik was awarded as the best European innovator at the IENA fair in Nuremberg, and her innovation won a gold medal.
The UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also awarded iTherapy for the world’s best innovation in 2019 in Istanbul. The company also received support from the European Enterprise Network and participated in economic meetings in Manchester in 2019.
In a statement, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce announced it will provide an opportunity for other Croatian innovators to present their products at the National Exhibition of Innovations, which will be held in October in Zagreb.
It is part of the “Innovate-Profit” initiative with the aim of promoting and exchanging knowledge of Croatian companies. The initiative was held in five Croatian regions through online trainings, and during a month and a half it was viewed by more than five thousand people via the web platform.
