Chemical engineer and biotechnologist István Kenyeres is the founder and President of the Biopolus Institute, a non-profit private R&D organization. He creates sustainable „BioMakeries” − integrated, intelligent urban structures that help close the water, food, waste and energy loops, basically producing water-, energy- or bio products from wastewater, organic matter and waste in densely populated urban areas. István works very closely with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, probably the most influential organization on the global arena to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. As an acknowledgment of his contribution to urban circularity solutions, his company, the Biopolus Technologies, Inc. has been invited to the CE100 Group, the highly prestigeous club of the world’s top hundred circular enterprises, among others with such names like Google and Apple.

István started his career as a researcher at the Budapest Technical University, focusing on bioreactor and artificial ecosystem design and bio-refinery processes. After 15 years he left academia, founded and led several successful companies. He holds the Silver Merit Cross of the President of the Republic of Hungary for his contribution to modern environmental industry in Hungary.