Grenova News

Each year, Grenova welcomes a team of talented interns to its Richmond headquarters to develop new skillsets and to prepare for future careers that will impact communities all over the globe. Throughout the summer, college students participating in Grenova’s internship program are able to gain valuable, firsthand experiences in a cutting-edge manufacturing facility that is creating the world’s only pipette tip washing technology. In addition, they become part of a family of passionate Grenovaians working to spread the word about reducing plastics in the lab industry, and throughout the biotech and life sciences community.  

Grenova's location in Richmond, Virginia is an essential part of the company’s identity. The sustainable biotech firm has been headquartered in Richmond ever since the company’s founding 6 years ago. 

After working in the laboratory consumables market for eight years, Ali Safavi, founder and CEO of Grenova Solutions, realized that the industry would not be able to sustain itself indefinitely. Working as a laboratory engineer, Safavi took notice of the sheer amount of plastic waste accumulating around him each day. He quickly saw that pipette tips, which he previously considered small and easily dispensable, were to blame for a sizable portion of the laboratory plastic waste created. There was no way to reuse pipette tips, and recycling these products was often costly. Safavi explains, “I worked in the industry for quite some time, and during that time I discovered that there is a hole in the laboratory consumables market. It’s a linear, not cyclical model; it’s not sustainable and it won’t last forever. For me, I found that plastic consumables were being discarded after a single use, and I saw that there was no way that the industry could sustain itself forever.” 

Throughout the current health crisis, Grenova has had one goal— to leverage our technology and expertise to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Richmond Inno, a media outlet featuring innovative businesses, recently recognized Grenova’s efforts in the healthcare and life sciences community during this time of crisis. Grenova was nominated as a finalist in the Crisis Innovator Award, which honors companies stepping up in the face of coronavirus.  

In a laboratory, tough decisions are regularly made to determine how best to conduct critical experiments and testing. Over time, pipette tips have adapted to suit labs across the globe and provide the tools so technicians and scientists have the ability to do important research. This is especially true as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the United States. Epidemiologists and virologists are working around the clock to come up with a treatment for the virus. Filtered pipette tips made of plastics are used to study the virus and the once bulky, glass pipettes now are sleek and automated. A total of 10 plastic pipette tips are used to perform a single COVID-19 test currently and most of the tips that are used now have a filter in them that is supposed to block out 100% of aerosols and prevent cross contamination when sampling. But how much are these significantly more expensive and environmentally costly tips really benefiting labs across the country? Should labs decide to ditch the filter? 

Laboratory consumables like pipette tips are often forgotten when labs across the globe look for ways to save money and the environment. Although small and seemingly insignificant, discarding pipette tips can have an enormous impact on a laboratory’s carbon footprint. Recent research conducted by Grenova Inc. has shown that the company’s pipette tip cleaners effectively clean tips without carryover and decrease a company’s carbon footprint by 93% per wash. In addition, if a 96-count rack of standard, polypropylene-made pipette tips are washed with a Tipnovus, a laboratory’s carbon footprint will be decreased by 15.18 lbs. per 10-minute wash cycle. So why has every pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and clinical lab not adopted this technology yet in 2020? 

Now more than ever, businesses around the world are placing a premium on keeping not only the environment and planet healthy, but employees as well. Pipette manufacturer Sartorius details that more than 40% of lab professionals suffer from pipetting-caused disorders. In the industries where lab technicians work such as education, healthcare, medicine, and biology, injuries associated with repetitive tasks like pipetting are on the rise.  

Companies around the world are increasingly realizing the importance of reducing their plastic waste. Aramark, the Coca Cola Company, and McDonalds are only a few of the large businesses who have committed to reducing their single-use plastics and increasing their use of reusable and compostable products. Big names are starting to use their platforms and resources to help drive real change to reduce single-use plastics.  

American inventor and tech mogul Steve Jobs once said, “The only way to do great work, is to love what you do”. At Grenova, this moto rings true. One of the most important characteristics of a job is a fun, inspiring, and welcoming workplace culture.  

Coronavirus testing labs are facing a steadily growing volume of tests needed with no immediate end in sight. These labs are tasked with managing their increasing demand through smart inventory control.  In a recent White House briefing, coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx stressed to testing laboratories: “Make sure you have enough pipette tips, pipettors, and all of the equipment that you need... you know what you need. Make sure you have that and have that available for these tests.”