NIA names Innovative Business Awards winners

The awardees were selected from 680 projects, each funded by the NIA with overall financial support of about Bt640 million and generating an investment value of more than Bt12 billion.

Pornchai Ru-jiprapha, permanent secretary of the Science and Technology Ministry, said the awards would motivate businesses and drive society to be more aware of and enthusiastic about the importance of innovation. 

The winning innovations are: Tiger fire-retardant mosquito nets; Oryze 2 Ways Powder, made from jasmine rice; the MobileBurn incinerator; Meds-Peal tele-medicine for patients with gastrointestinal /digestive disease; E-sure, a screening test for thalassemia HbE; E-composite BMC, made from recycled PET for headlamp reflectors; Tofusan soy milk with tofu sheet; xTUAV, a high-performance medium unmanned aerial vehicle; Siamnissin, a lightweight wheelchair; and the Greenplas NR nursery planting bag made from bioplastic. 

The top award went to the Tiger flame-retardant mosquito net, the production of which Bangkok Bed Net R&D Marketing utilises nanotechnology. The nets, which are certified by the World Health Organization (WHO), combine technology that brings together both an insecticide and a flame retardant. 

The product maintains its resistance to mosquitoes and flames through more than 20 washes, which is in accordance with the WHO standard. 

Pichait Palanugool, president of Bangkok Bed Net R&D Marketing, said the success of the project had enabled the company to turn to future innovative developments, such as protection against insects that damage teak. 

Moreover, in the near future it will use the Tiger innovation to produce an insect-repellent textile for wrapping fruit.

The first runner-up was Oryze 2 Ways Powder, made by Thai Product Innovation. The product uses chemically modified jasmine rice to create a fine powder, which feels smooth and protects against humidity, as well as reducing facial oil. 

The use of micro-organisms meets the required standard, the company said, adding that the main material used to produce the powder feels similar to talcum powder and includes natural extracts such as silk powder, which help to stimulate and create new collagen.

Yuwadee Boonkrong, CEO of Thai Product Innovation, said the firm would announce the new powder to the market next month, besides which it has plans to support future development, such as producing serum from jasmine rice and other products from herbs. 

The second runner-up award went to the MobileBurn mobile incinerator, which is a small unit that burns up to three tons of waste per day. The incinerator was developed by Chiang Mai Environment Project, in cooperation with Loxley.

The technology uses the same system as gasification, which is applied to burn waste instead of using a traditional burner. Moreover, the system can reduce the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas by using a synthetic gas during gasification. 

The product is also designed to include an air-treatment system to treat pollution before it is released into the environment.