Iveta Štyriaková (left), mother of Darina Štariaková (right) and Jaroslav Šuba, co-founders of Ekolive. (source: Courtesy of Ekolive)
Some of history’s most important scientific breakthroughs have come about by accident, for example the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, or X-rays by Wilhelm Röntgen.
For Košice-based startup Ekolive, a similar chance discovery was the start of a whole new chapter in their business.
Ekolive
The company has developed a patented eco-bioleaching technology that replicates the natural process of soil formation through microbial weathering of minerals.
Its InnoBioTech® is a patented EU/ETV-certified ecological method for the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials. The first of its kind in the world, it is used for the upgrading of low-grade primary minerals and the recycling of secondary materials.
Using this technology, it also produces its ecological biostimulants.
Originally focused on the ecological treatment of minerals for the mining industry, the company coincidentally discovered that what they originally thought was an unwanted residue of these processes was in fact a very effective bio-stimulant.
This led to a radical redrafting of their business model, Darina Štyriaková, scientist and director of Ekolive, told The Slovak Spectator. Today, the firm continues to treat raw materials for the mining industry, but works only with those that have no poisonous elements, in order to ensure its bio-stimulants are toxin-free.
“Today, we focus primarily on production of our bio-stimulants,” Štyriaková said, adding that she and her staff get extra motivation when they see their product helping to raise farmers’ yields significantly.
“We see more sense in supporting organic farming,” she said.
Bioleaching
Štyriaková’s work is a continuation of a project launched years ago by her parents, who are both scientists. Her mother, a mining industry expert, and her father, a microbiologist, developed a unique process of environmentally-friendly treatment of raw materials using bacteria for the decomposition and liquefaction of minerals.
