Arctic Stone

TEAM

Sigurdur Gudmundsson

Inventor

Sigurdur Gudmundsson’s background is in carpentry and business administration. He has wide-ranging business experience, from running companies in industrial production to intellectual property management.

Sigurdur has for years been an avid potter and was a pioneer in developing methods to produce porcelain from locally sourced materials. Furthermore, he has developed methods to refine other minerals using bioleaching and other environmentally friendly and economic processes.

Erla Maria Hauksdottir

Geologist

Erla María Hauksdóttir is a geologist with years of experience in geotechnics, as well as a certified mountain guide, with a thorough knowledge of Iceland’s geology. She has worked all over the world from core logging at Kárahnjúkar in Iceland, to mapping tunnels in the Kaduna district in Nigeria. She has experience in researching aggregates for construction (roads, buildings) and worked as a project manager of the research lab in the Innovation Center Iceland. She has lectured at the University of Iceland in material science. Her main expertise is in sampling, site searching, geology, European standards and testing of aggregates.

Kristjan Leosson

PhD – Advisor,
Materials Science

Kristjan Leosson is an expert in materials science and chemical analysis. He has worked in research and development in nanotechnology, solid state physics, photonics and spectroscopic analysis for over 20 years, within academia, government research institutes and startup companies.

Margret Sigrun Sigurdardottir

PhD – Marketing and Communications

Margret Sigrun Sigurdardottir, Associate professor at the University of Iceland. She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in business administration. Before embarking on her PhD studies, she worked in advertising and marketing. Her PhD from the Copenhagen Business School is in industrial dynamics and organizational theory.

Gudrun Mjoll Sigurdardottir

Economist MPA

Gudrun Mjoll Sigurdardottir, has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Iceland and an MPA from Columbia University, with an emphasis on nonprofit organizations.

Magnus Thor Torfason

PhD – Chairman of the Board

Magnus Thor Torfason, is an Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Iceland. He holds a PhD in organizational theory with an emphasis on social networks and innovation from Columbia University, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Iceland. Before accepting a position at the University of Iceland Magnus was an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. Magnus has served on various boards related to research and innovation, including as the Chairman of the Icelandic Infrastructure Fund at Rannis, and on the board of Frumtak Ventures.

Support and funding

In the period 2017-2020 the team received funding from the Icelandic Technology Development Fund to develop bioleaching refinement processes for Icelandic minerals. The funding resulted in a proof of concept, combining locally sourced bacteria and geothermal energy in refining minerals. This applied research lead to the establishment of Arctic Stone.

In 2020, the company Arctic Stone was awarded funding from the Technology Development Fund to further develop and scale up the production process, applying it to minerals from different volcanic sources.