A novel idea by Valentyn Frechka has turned into an eco-friendly business of treeless paper. Releaf was founded in 2021 and has grown tremendously in a short period of time due to its impressive eco-friendly properties. This paper degrades within mere 50 days, while consuming less water and electricity during the production process, as compared to regular paper.
At 16 years, Valentyn decided to study alternative sources to cellulose production in order to reduce deforestation. He wanted to save the forests he grew to love so much during his childhood near the Carpathian Mountains. He wondered if leaves contained enough cellulose to create paper, and he discovered on his own that they did indeed have the same fibers as wood that would make paper manufacturing possible.
NURTURING AN IDEA
The first prototype for such paper was created in 2018, after many failed attempts, in Valentyn’s school laboratory. It was a starting point for something big but the finishing line was nowhere close.
The young innovator started putting his idea and its manifestation out there, using every opportunity. His hard work met appreciation; he won gold at the all-Ukrainian ecology Olympia, the Intel Eco Ukraine Scientific and Technical Competition, the International Olympiad, the Climate Olympiad in Kenya, and many others. For two years, he persevered at the World Olympics to present his idea to a wider audience.
Till 2020, Valentyn worked for R&D in Zhytomyr Cardboard, which polished him into an innovation expert. Refining his own innovation in that period, he and co-founder Alexander Sobolenko (CEO) finally felt ready to take it to an industrial scale, and Releaf was born. The first test batch of Releaf paper was produced industrially in 2020 and $20,000 worth of grant funds were raised afterwards.
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