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An online PLASTIC FANTASTIC program, powered by REMEDIES & Impact Hub Athens.

We're not just hacking plastic, we're hacking the future!

PLASTIC FANTASTIC was an international online Hackathon & acceleration program, where experts of diverse backgrounds from 24 projects across Europe hacked together the circle of plastic. It started in April 2024 with an international Bootcamp and Hackathon and the program ran for 6 months. 

Following the Bootcamp, 15 finalist teams were selected from the initial 24 participating projects. These finalists represented a wide range of solutions and geographies, addressing different aspects of plastic pollution, from prevention and monitoring to reuse, valorisation, and circular business models

During this journey, environmental & business experts, water & environmental activists, and impact entrepreneurs worked collectively to further develop solutions regarding the detection, monitoring, collection, valorisation and prevention as well as reuse of plastic litter. The 4 most impactful solutions were further supported by a wide and diverse community of the Impact Hub Athens experts. 

Discover the detailed AGENDA of the Hackathon PLASTIC FANTASTIC here.

Discover more about the winners!
Discover more about the winners!
Discover more about the winners!
“An international online hackathon to reshape the plastic lifecycle! Connect with the most prominent plastic fantastic community of experts, business consultants & industry leaders, develop your solution & build a strong and diverse network!”

Awards

29 January – 28 March

Applications: 29 January until 28 March 2024

5 April

Announcement of selected ideas: 5 April 2024

8 April

Preparatory meeting for participating startups: 15 April 10.00-11.30 CET

10 – 12 April

Bootcamp & Pitching event: 10, 11 & 12 April 17.00-19.30 CET

17 – 18 April

Hackathon Event & Closing Ceremony: 17 Αpril 10.00-18.00 CET & 18 April 17.00-19.30 CET

19 April – 18 July

Acceleration: 19 April until 18 July 2024

Who are we looking for?

The PLASTIC FANTASTIC was designed to accommodate:

  • Innovative solutions at idea stage: informal groups of at least 2 people with a strong sense of collaboration, common vision and shared goals
  • Recently established non or for profit organisations: companies with no more than 5 years in business

As long as they are fluent in English and they have a stable internet connection, since all the stages of the program are conducted online.

And they are building solutions that contribute to the:

Detection and Monitoring the plastic litter

Collection and Valorization

Prevention of Non-Degradable Plastics and Zero Waste Solutions

Two Info Webinars and Q&A sessions were held by the Impact Hub Athens team on February 29th and March 14th to support participants throughout the hackathon journey.

Want to catch up on the highlights, key talks, and memorable moments from the hackathon? Check out the full video playlist here: Hackathon Video Playlist

Keynote Speech

The final pitching and award ceremony took place on 18 April 2024. The event included the Keynote Speech by Kestutis Sadauskas, Deputy Director-General at the European Commission, as well as the introduction of the Hackathon Jury and their “Impact Plastic Promise.”

This session marked the closing moment of the PLASTIC FANTASTIC Hackathon, bringing together the finalist teams, jury members, partners, and supporters to celebrate innovation for cleaner oceans.

Inspirational Talks

Meet representatives of three pioneering organizations and programs tackling issues on environmental sustainability, based on the pillars of REMEDIES.

Hear from Th. Mertzimekis from RAMONES, Andy Bownds from EcoBrixs and Soeren Lex from Plasticpreneur.

Bootcamp Kick-off & Meet the Teams

Watch the recording of the Plastic Fantastic Bootcamp Kick-off and meet the teams.

Organizers

REMEDIES is an Horizon Europe innovation Program creating innovative solutions and technologies to monitor, collect, prevent and valorise (micro)plastic from our oceans. Our approach is rooted in science, circularity, and community engagement aiming to protect water ecosystems, reduce pollution and develop a climate-neutral blue economy.

Impact Hub Athens aims to bring together unlikely allies whose combined actions create conditions for a just world for all. An innovation lab; a community of communities; a business incubator. Primarily in Athens and rural Greece, through direct actions or affiliate organizations, we offer a unique ecosystem of resources, education and collaboration opportunities to grow the positive impact of local communities around the issues of equitable cities, environmental action and rural development.

Since 2013, we run a coworking space, a social economy physical market, we have supported the creation of 270+ social ventures, trained 3000+ people, organised 300+ events, and implemented 50+ projects.

Experts

Theo Mertzimekis

Associate Professor at the University of Athens

Yacopo Baldacchino

Science communicator at Esplora

Niki Kousi

Managing Director at EIT Manufacturing CLC South East

Vassilis Stenos

Founder & CEO of Solmeyea

Soren Lex

CEO & Co-Founder of Plasticpreneur

Antoine Avignon

Program Manager Environment & Climate Action at the European Commission

Athanasia Tsertou

Chief Technology Officer at CIBOS Innovation

Mahdi Khomsi

International relations coordinator of BUSINESSMED

Katrin Schuhen

Founder & Managing Director of Wasser 3.0

Maria Westerbos

Founder & Director of Plastic Soup Foundation

Erick Pastor

Founder of IONIC

Konstantinos Tsoukalas

Plastics and waste officer of WWF Greece

Dr. Clyde Hutchinson

General Partner at TEAM ABC and Partner at Journey Partner

Allard Marx

CEO & Co-Founder of AETHIC

Eleni Petra

Project Manager of Athena Research Center

Christina Kontaxi

Marine Scientist

Javier Delgado Gallardo

Postdoctoral Researcher at VITO

Andrej Krzan

Senior Scientific Associate, National Institute of Chemistry

Katerina Kyriakopoulou

Biologist at All for Blue Organisation

Simos Malamis

Associate Professor at National Technological University of Athens

Theodoros Paraskevopoulos

Founder of Pack-Lab

Gary Kett

Junior Researcher at CIIMAR

Gregory Andrikos

Director of Sales & Business Development – Corporate Strategy at Cyclops SA

Alice Guittard

Consultant/Researcher at Athens Research and Innovation Center ·

Zoi Volioti

Consultant on Bioeconomy, Sustainabilty and Business Development

Angelos Manglis

Founder of Enaliatec

Alexander Panagiotou

Associate Consultant

Georgios Pismisis

Sustainability Senior Associate at Vipa Group

Allard Marx

Founder & CEO of AETHIC

Onno Ruiter

General Manager at Corsair Europe B.V.

Vassilis Sfakianopoulos

Founder of Save Your Hood

Eleonore Cottarel

Partner at Investing for Purpose

Manolis Chatzigiannis

Technology Transfer Manager at CERTH

Judges

Angeliki Kosmopoulou

Executive Director at Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation

Dr. Lida Tsene

Communications Strategist, Storyteller with a Purpose, CSR and Impact Measurement Expert

Nicola Rubini

Business Development & Clustering Manager at River Cleaning

Levin Pal

Assistant Director of the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency

Katrin Schuhen

Founder & Managing Director of Wasser 3.0

Eleni Petra

Project Manager of Athena Research Center

Sylvain Petit

Executive secretary at Small Islands Organisation (SMILO)

Milica Velimirovic

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at VITO

Urban Šegedin

Project Coordinator of Knowledge Transfer Office, Kemijski Inštitut – National Institute of Chemistry

Andreja Palatinus

Leading expert at Kemijski Inštitut – National Institute of Chemistry

Miloš Milošević

Project Coordinator at EXIT Foundation

Uroš Novak

Coordinator of Horizon Europe MISSION project REMEDIES – Kemijski inštitut – National Institute of Chemistry

Kostja Klabjan

Chief Executive Officer at Clera.one

Ivica Ilic

Head of the Project Management Office, Kemijski Inštitut – National Institute of Chemistry

Dimitris Kokkinakis

Co-Founder of Impact Hub Athens

Sophie Lamprou

Co-Founder of Impact Hub Athens

Annamaria Vujanović

University of Maribor

Davide Poletto

Executive Director of Venice Laggon Plastic Free

Elena Lamprou

Business Development Director at Impact Hub Athens

Eleni Andreadis

Executive ESG Director at Sani/Ikos Group

Andrei Geica

Co-Founder, Chief Policy and Impact Officer at Sporos Platform

Dimitris Kouletsis

Head of Entrepreneurial Support at Impact Hub Athens

Mariacristina Cocca

Italian National Research Council CNR

Speakers & Instructors

Kestutis Sadauskas

Deputy Director General at European Commission

Nikolaus Hutter

Founder of Relevant Ventures

Sören Lex

CEO &  Co-Founfer of Plasticpreneur

Andy Bownds

Co-Founder and CEO of Eco Brixs

Bart Stegeman

Slovenian Orchestrator-Circular Economy and Value Chains Transformation at Climate KIC

Theo Mertzimekis

Associate Professor at the University of Athens

George Stratigopoulos

Associate at Uni.Fund

Vrasidas Zavras

Member of BoD of WWF Greece

Pierre Strosser

Owner of ACTeon Enviroment

Ruth Higgins

Administrative and Financial Manager at EurOcean

Sara Granchinho

Marketing and Communication officer at EurOcean

Funders

client
client

Awards Sponsors

client
client

Supporters

Communication partners

Content contributors

Discover PLASTIC FANTASTIC 2026
Discover PLASTIC FANTASTIC 2026
Discover PLASTIC FANTASTIC 2026

The PLASTIC FANTASTIC journey continues. Discover the second edition of the Hackathon, organised in 2026 within the PHAROS project.

“REMEDIES – Co-creating strong uptake of REMEDIES for the future of our oceans through deploying plastic litter valorisation and prevention pathways” – HORIZON Innovation Actions – Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters (HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03)

The first project selected from the newly created Horizon program EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters

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