Artur Napiórkowski and Denny Schenk won a place in ECCI’s Low Carbon Ideas Lab earlier this year with the Retromixer: a patent pending, easy to use, adjustable and affordable adapter that mixes hot and cold water streams.

The enterprising pair came up with the idea when Artur was studying in the UK as an international student, discovering that the separate taps for scalding hot and freezing cold water was a common complaint for visitors to the UK.

Retromixer claims to make washing your hands more convenient and also helps save water and energy.

The Dragons’ Den series pits the wits of budding entrepreneurs who each get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest their own cash.

The Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity, include Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Sarah Willingham, Touker Suleyman and Nick Jenkins.

ECCI innovation manager Charlotte Waugh said: “ECCI is really proud of Artur & Denny. We knew they had a great idea the minute they applied for the Low Carbon Ideas Lab. Dragons’ Den is watched by millions of viewers so the appearance on TV could also help take Retromixer to new heights. We’ll just have to wait and see how they get on on Sunday.”

Artur Napiórkowski, co-founder of Retromixer Ltd, said: “ECCI, with the Low Carbon Ideas Lab programme, has been very generous in its support from day one. We’re really happy and thankful we had the opportunity to become members of the ECCI community. It’s beyond any doubt it has helped us establish a business that now has a fully developed and manufactured product with sustainability in focus and growing sales. We were put in touch with mentors, legal advisors, business angels and other organisations from the wider ecosystem of early stage entrepreneurship in Scotland.”

The Low Carbon Ideas Lab, based at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, provides support, mentoring and world class accommodation for inspirational ideas that accelerate Scotland’s progress towards a low carbon economy.

ECCI’s Ideas Lab offers tailored support, competitive bursaries, University of Edinburgh links and access to ECCI’s community of key sector players.

Launched in October 2014, the lab has gone through three rounds of recruitment, supporting thirteen entrepreneurs from various sectors (water, smart cities, transport, big data) who have collectively achieved a significant impact.

The Low Carbon Ideas Lab is open now for applications. Apply online by Monday 12 September.