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Who? Where? How?
Photos: Kretel Kuusk,
Junior Achievement Latvia
Recognitions
🥇Estonian Best Student Company 2026
🥈Second JA Europe Innovation of the year 2026
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Recognitions
🥇Estonian Best Student Company 2026
🥈Second JA Europe Innovation of the year 2026
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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 1
aka idea & backyard experiments
aka idea & backyard experiments
Our journey started in the spring of 2025.
Before we started building anything, we spent almost two months researching how it would even be possible to create a long-lasting writing tool. We taught ourselves chemistry, metallurgy, and materials science, even though we barely knew anything about those subjects at the time.
Once the research was done, we moved on to experimenting. Our very first test was done with whatever we had on hand, literally on a backyard grill.
We don't know if it was beginner's luck, but the first experiment actually worked! We had our first rough proof that this kind of solution could really work.
Before we started building anything, we spent almost two months researching how it would even be possible to create a long-lasting writing tool. We taught ourselves chemistry, metallurgy, and materials science, even though we barely knew anything about those subjects at the time.
Once the research was done, we moved on to experimenting. Our very first test was done with whatever we had on hand, literally on a backyard grill.
We don't know if it was beginner's luck, but the first experiment actually worked! We had our first rough proof that this kind of solution could really work.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 2
aka independent laboratory research
After the successful first experiment in our backyard, we decided to repeat it in a controlled environment.
aka independent laboratory research
We headed to the teaching laboratory at Pernova Education Centre in Pärnu, where we recreated the experiment on our own, this time with the goal of better controlling the material ratios and quantities.
Our goal was to find a composition that would produce at least the same result as our first experiment. We tested different alloys and manufacturing methods over and over again, but we couldn't recreate that initial success.
Even so, we didn't lose faith in our idea. We had seen with our own eyes that it was possible! What we did realize, however, was that if we wanted to move forward, we needed support from experienced mentors in the field and access to more specialized laboratories.
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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 3
aka bigger, better & bolder
We started reaching out to more and more scientists, mentors, and university laboratories, introducing our idea and looking for ways to move the product development forward. One of the biggest milestones was being invited to EnerHUB, the engineering incubator at the Energy Discovery Centre. It was a huge confidence boost and showed us that others genuinely saw potential in our idea. At the same time, we had the opportunity to work with experienced mentors and continue our experiments in increasingly advanced laboratories, including at the University of Tartu.
aka bigger, better & bolder
After more than eight months of continuous development, dozens of experiments, and countless lessons learned, we finally developed a working alloy!
But that's not where Kiryak's story ends. We've already spent countless hours in TalTech's laboratories, working to make our alloy even darker and more durable.
