The TXFOAM project, initiated by GAIA (the Association of Information Technologies’ Industries in the Basque Country), ESTIA (École Superieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancees) and the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), has managed to identify a new material which is less toxic and is a recyclable alternative to the foam currently used in the manufacture of surfboards.
The project, within the remit of the ELKANO mobility grants promoted by GAIA and the UPV-EHU — is being undertaken by two young Gipuzkoans: Borja Ponte, BSc in Chemical Sciences and a specialist in macromolecules and Julen Rementería, who has a degree in Company Administration and Management and a Masters degree in Sliding Sports Engineering and Marketing.
The surfing industry produces more than 750,000 surfboards per year, of which only a small percentage contain sustainable or biodegradable materials. This is why the TXFOAM project aims to tackle this environmental problem, above all by research in order to reduce the toxicity of the surfboards, maintaining and even enhancing their technical specifications.
The TX Foam project is being developed at the business incubator belonging to ESTIA in Hendaya, in collaboration with other agents and related entrepreneurs related to nautical sports activities, in the very heart of Aquitaine where 70% of boards of the European surfboard industry are made.
[tags]surf, surfboard, surf board, surfing[/tags]