Alkagesta, the international energy and commodity trading house headquartered in Malta, has announced the successful completion of Phase I of the Clean Caspian startup — an environmental research initiative backed by the company and focused on developing practical technologies for oil spill remediation in marine ecosystems.
The investment was made as part of Alkagesta's broader ESG strategy and long-term commitment to environmental stewardship, following the project's presentation on the GUB Startup Platform as part of the "Skills for the Future" initiative — a programme through which young innovators present technology and research-based solutions to real industrial and environmental challenges.
Phase I marks the completion of initial laboratory testing, during which the research team identified two leading chemical formulants for oil spill management. Oil-Collecting Reagent 1 is designed to rapidly localise and contain thin oil films on the water surface, while Flocculant-Coagulant 1 is geared toward destabilising oil-in-water emulsions and improving separation efficiency — together offering a two-stage approach to spill response.
The research has been led by Aynura Mammadova of the University of Padova in Italy and Narmin Ismayilova of Baku Engineering University in Azerbaijan, combining scientific expertise and laboratory resources across two institutions.
Aynura Mammadova, Co-founder of Clean Caspian, commented: "For us, Clean Caspian is about turning scientific research into practical environmental solutions. We are particularly interested in how more sustainable, circular approaches can be used to address oil contamination and reduce its environmental impact. These initial results give us a strong foundation for the next stage of research and optimisation."
Orkhan Rustamov, CEO of Alkagesta, said: "This initiative has the potential to enable vital advances in the technology behind preventing and mitigating oil spills. We are delighted to be able to support such an initiative, recognising that we have a responsibility as traders of a product that if mishandled can cause serious environmental harm. We are excited to see what this startup can achieve and thank the researchers for their excellent work to date."
The completion of Phase I has been covered in the industry press, reporting on the identification of the two formulants and their potential for real-world application in oil spill response. Alkagesta has also published a video documenting the Phase I completion.
With Phase I complete, the team will focus on further optimising both formulants, conducting additional testing under new environmental conditions, and progressing the patent application process.
Distributed by Pressat
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