1st April 2025
Today, Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI), the HSE and the Irish College of GPs, announced the winners of HIHI GreenTech in Healthcare. The Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) is a joint government initiative of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Health.
Six innovative products and services have been identified, that promote environmental sustainability in both primary and secondary healthcare. The call was the first step in tackling the research and innovation gap in sustainable product pathways in the Irish health sector. Now, the winning products and services in green healthcare, will be trialled. This allows Irish health providers to pilot, refine and adapt sustainable solutions effectively, before wider implementation.
The HSE, Enterprise Ireland and Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI), will lead collaborations across Irish healthcare sites to deliver trialling of the winners on the ground.
Welcoming the announcement Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke said:
“The Health Innovation Hub Ireland GreenTech initiative is a clear demonstration of how innovation can support our national climate goals while delivering practical benefits to the health service. Through Health Innovation Hub Ireland – a flagship collaboration between my department and the Department of Health – we are driving forward sustainable innovation, supporting enterprise, and enabling real-world testing of green solutions in our health system.”
HIHI National Director Dr Tanya Mulcahy said:
“Todaymarks a significant step toward integrating sustainable innovation into Irish healthcare. By identifying and trialling these six pioneering solutions, Health Innovation Hub Ireland, with the HSE and the Irish College of GPs, is fostering real-world impact in environmental sustainability.
“The diversity of the selected products - from circular economy medical devices to eco-friendly ultrasound gels - demonstrates a broad commitment to tackling healthcare’s environmental footprint. This initiative sets a strong precedent for future collaborations in green healthcare innovation."
Dr Philip Crowley National Director HSE Climate and Global Health said:
“We are delighted to be involved in this recent Greentech in healthcare call and initiative with Health Innovation Hub Ireland and the Irish College of GPs. In keeping with the HSE Climate Action Strategy and our work to create greener models of healthcare, it is a great opportunity to encourage and support innovative services and products that are environmentally sustainable for healthcare environments.”
Dr Andrée Rochfort, Director of Quality Improvement at the Irish College of GPs said:
“Protecting the finite resources of healthcare and minimizing the environmental impact of healthcare is important. The innovations identified by the GreenTech Initiative have potential to improve healthcare sustainability in a practical way. We look forward to the reports on these green healthcare products after they are tested in primary and secondary care”.
Winners
Aerogen: This HIHI GreenTech winner pitched a unique long term multi-disciplinary project developing sustainable medical devices, transitioning to a circular economy model and reducing the environmental footprint of Aerogen’s Solo Nebuliser products. There are several stages to this work and HIHI looks forward to beginning the first stage, supporting research and problem definition, throughout Irish healthcare sites.
Vanguard AG: This HIHI GreenTech winner pitched a proven solution for the remanufacturing of single-use medical devices. HIHI looks forward to trialing this solution as part of a sustainability pilot in Irish healthcare.
HaPPE: This HIHI GreenTech winner pitched a full cycle bio-digestion system, creating a sustainable solution for healthcare waste, specifically compostable PPE and food waste. The solution leverages compostable materials, on-site bio-digestion and advanced decontamination technology. HIHI looks forward to trialing this solution as part of a sustainability pilot in Irish healthcare.
EccoSpray: This GreenTech winner pitched an eco-friendly alternative to traditional ultrasound gels, to measure sustainability, waste reduction and efficiency benefits. The product has previously been trialed by HIHI with positive results on usability and image quality. HIHI now looks forward to trial this solution as part of a sustainability pilot in Irish healthcare.
Offerre: This HIHI GreenTech winner, a new consortium of Irish companies - Offerre, Envetec, DeltaQ, Enva - pitched a multi-faceted solution focused on medical waste treatment and recovery. HIHI now looks forward to mapping this solution to trial it as part of a sustainability pilot in Irish healthcare.
Medfirst Supplies - Safe clean box: This HIHI GreenTech winner, pitched a closed, sealed cabinet system that automates the manual cleaning of RIMDs. Uses sodium bicarbonate (non-abrasive, non-corrosive and water-soluble) with low-pressure compressed air for effective pre-cleaning of medical device. HIHI now looks forward evaluating this solution as part of its sustainability portfolio in Irish healthcare.
The pitches were judged by HIHI Clinical Sustainability Advisors (CSA) from across Ireland who work on the frontline, and a panel of experts from the HSE, Irish College of General Practitioners and Irish healthcare sites - healthcare sites, including St James’s, TUH, CUH, CUMH, UHG. HIHI, the HSE and the Irish College of GPs will now support the development and trialling of these innovative products and services.
ENDS
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