Designer Johannes Kastner with SOCIAL PLAST in the final of the James Dyson Award 2024
The SOCIAL PLAST project developed by industrial design graduate Johannes Kastner has been shortlisted by a jury of experts as one of the 20 best submissions for the James Dyson Award 2024 at international level. A total of 1917 entries from 29 participating countries were submitted worldwide for the James Dyson Award 2024.
With his invention SOCIAL PLAST, industrial designer Johannes Kastner, who graduated from the Kunsthochschule Kassel in 2023, shows how the use of high-performance concrete (UHPC) can be used to produce more cost-effective and energy-efficient molds for the injection molding process. This process is particularly sustainable for smaller series from 500+ pieces.
With SOCIAL PLAST, Johannes Kastner has already won second place in the James Dyson Award 2024 at national level in Germany. The four-member jury, consisting of Professor Tom Philipps, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Mélanie Voisin, Editor, VDI nachrichten, Jamie Pattison, Design Engineer, Dyson UK, and Ferry Radix, Senior Communications Manager, Dyson, who selected the best submissions from Germany, were impressed by both the technological innovation potential of SOCIAL PLAST and the approach of facilitating access to injection molding in developing regions. Johannes Kastner on his success: "With SOCIAL PLAST, I am presenting a new manufacturing method for low-cost injection molds made of UHPC concrete that can help accelerate plastics recycling on a global scale. It is important to me to show that designers can use new technological possibilities to provide answers to the fundamental questions of our time. My success at the James Dyson Award encourages me to continue realizing my project on an industrial level."
All those who made it onto the top 20 shortlist now have the chance to win the James Dyson Award 2024 at international level and prize money of 35,000 euros. The winners of the James Dyson Award at international level will be announced on November 13.
About the James Dyson Award
The international James Dyson Award has been presented to students and recent graduates in the fields of engineering and design since 2005 and is held in 29 countries. Since 2005, the James Dyson Award has supported more than 400 inventions worldwide. Around 70 percent of former winners go on to develop their inventions to market maturity. All submissions for the James Dyson Award 2024 are listed in the project gallery on the James Dyson Award website. The James Dyson Award is part of James Dyson's wider commitment to encouraging budding engineers and designers to apply their knowledge and discover new ways to improve lives through technology and is run by the James Dyson Foundation.
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To the Top 20