Background Information

The brown marmorated stink bug was accidentally introduced to much of the world through its native Japan, Korea, and China. Stink bugs and other invasive species have negatively impacted global agriculture, supply chain and shipping with no universal solution in sight, and countries have taken various approaches when implementing regulations to control the spread of invasive species. Ultimately, the cost of these regulations impact the commercial shipping industry. For example, in Australia/New Zealand, the countries have been doubling down on regulations and policies, which has led to zero-tolerance enforcement of the new regulations. These new policies have resulted in shippers having to invest in new technologies and processes due to the stink bug.

Due to the rapid growth rate of these species and their economic impact Wallenius Wilhelmsen is taking the first step in designing an innovation challenge to help develop solutions to curtail their growth.

Current Biosecurity Process

Current methods for stink bug treatment are via heat or chemical treatment.

Cargo (cars, trucks, or tractors) is treated prior to being placed onto container ships over a specified time with the application of sustained heat or chemicals.

Cargo must be pest free before being placed onto the ship and pest free before being allowed to dock in Australia and New Zealand. Demand for increased biosecurity across the globe is growing.

Key variables in our current biosecurity process:

• Cost: The cost of treatment is an important variable and we are looking to dramatically reduce the treatment cost per car.

• Time: The amount of time it takes to treat a car is a critical factor, regardless of method of treatment. The faster the better.

• Environmental impact: Proposed treatment methods are required to be environmentally friendly.

What we are looking for

We are looking for specific solutions to address lower cost and faster treatment with an environmentally
sustainable approach.

Winner(s) will get a Proof-of-Concept funded at up to $30K each

Interested in Collaborating?

We are interested in collaborating with anyone that might have ideas around biosecurity as it relates to invasive pest identification and treatment. These include but are not limited to collaborators from:

• Academia

• Startups

• Venture Capital / Private Equity

• Shipping, Logistics and Transportation

• Local and National Governments

• Large Enterprise organizations with subject matter expertise

• Agriculture

• Biology & Entomology

Entry Rules

Please review our entry rules which can be found here.