09/26/2023
Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal: Integrity at a Cheaper Price?
The voluntary carbon market (VCM), where large corporates are paying for offsets to reduce their net-emissions to reach net-zero carbon goal...
By Holly Stower
Looking to scale your innovation? Need ideas, resources and advice to take your start-up or scale-up to the next level? From agriculture to transport, recycling, chemicals, clean energy and the latest in AI, you can search for and find opportunities to work with corporates, investors, accelerators and programs dedicated to helping us create a cleaner, cooler future.
Cleantech Group is an active partner on these challenges:
You can search and filter through challenges by typing in the search field or by using the dropdowns below.
Click here to view the current challenges.
Startup Wise Guys SaaS acceleration Africa program will provide an optimized approach that delivers tailored guidance and support from world class mentors and experts. This accelerator program will help you navigate the bumps in the company building road, revolutionize your go-to-market strategy and encourage you to bring your A game.
Go Build 2023 with Saint-Gobain is accelerating the commercialization of technologies to decarbonize the built environment, from conception to breaking ground, retrofitting, demolition, and recycling. View the request for applications.
EIT InnoEnergy’s European Green Hydrogen Accel...
EIT InnoEnergy’s European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Center (EGHAC) have recently announced that we renewed their partnership with the European Commission to accelerate green hydrogen initiatives. You can find more details here.
We are aiming to reach relevant green hydrogen projects and technologies to apply for this call, which will consist in a due diligence process resulting in the opportunity for the selected initiatives being eligible for equity investment and accessing key investment players in Europe. Interested projects and technology ventures can fill in a high-level questionnaire by the 15th of July 2023. Finalists will participate in the Green H2 Investment Day at the end of the year in Brussels with 20+ investors present.
You can find the recording of the webinar which explains the process and all relevant information like selection criteria here and in the presentation attached.
Please reach out to info-eghac@innoenergy.com for specific questions.
The Decarbonization Technology Challenge invites innovators from across the globe to enter for a chance to win up to $1 million in piloting opportunities with ADNOC, to demonstrate greenhouse gas reducing potential.
Ten finalists will be selected to present their technology to a panel of judges in the UAE in December 2023.
Octopus Springboard is a 3-month part-time programme that is free of charge, hands-on, and will help successful applicants:
The programme will likely lead to investments of £500k-£1m by Octopus Ventures in some of the companies completing the programme, subject to Investment Committee approval and standard Octopus processes.
As the global leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain is committed to building a more sustainable future with clean and green building technology. From 3D printing and energy-efficient materials to immersive technologies and enhanced delivery optimization, Saint-Gobain are looking to collaborate with startups in APAC region that are committed to leveraging technology and innovation to build a better world.
Selected startups will get to be fast-tracked toSLINGSHOT’s Top 50 startups. They will also receive funding opportunities, mentorship, and access to invaluable resources to turn their ideas into reality. Apply today and help build a more sustainable world!
Go Make 2023 aims to enable a circular, net-zero economy by advancing solutions for carbon utilization, storage, and traceability. Greentown Labs and Shell are looking for startups at TRL 2-7 with innovations for carbon utilization and management across a variety of applications.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: Swire Properties seeks to reduce the overall carbon footprint associated with HVAC systems in existing commercial buildings within dense urban environments.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: HK Express (HKE) seeks a solution to reduce in-flight single-use plastics (SUP) and promote circularity through waste-to-energy/materials in Hong Kong from its inflight disposable waste.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: Cathay Pacific is looking for solutions reduce waste production and increase recycling rates in its Hong Kong office.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: Cathay Pacific seeks a data and software solution to understand the sustainability impact of various materials to make more sustainable procurement decisions.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: Cathay Pacific seeks solutions to reduce volume of single-use plastic in-flight, especially plastic bags for headphones and blankets.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: HAECO Cabin Solutions seeks solutions to reduce the energy and water consumption of its current water chiller system in its U.S. manufacturing facilities.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: Swire Resources is looking for solutions to measure and reduce Municipal Solid Waste from its shops and warehouses.
Swire Properties seeks solutions to reduce water use in freshwater cooling tower through capturing water vapour from evaporation for reuse.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: Swire Properties is looking for solutions to monitor waste generation and recycling performance for retail portfolio and facilitate higher recycling rates among commercial tenants.
Swire Properties seeks to reduce the overall carbon footprint and energy consumption associated with heating systems in retail buildings within Chinese Mainland.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: HAECO Hong Kong seeks a solution to increase the capacity of its existing chiller system.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: HAECO Hong Kong seeks to recycle wood waste from boxes used for shipments.
Funded Pilot Opportunity: HAECO Hong Kong seeks a solution to enhance the efficiency of water scrubbers or directly upgrade or replace them.
DCLM (operated by Veolia) would like to find economically viable ways to valorise waste produced from the pulp and paper industry. In their aim to be more sustainable and contribute to a circular economy strategy, DCLM is looking at reducing waste to landfill by seeking solutions utilising innovative methods to valorise dregs (mixture of black and green liquor) and effluent fibre that are produced in large quantities from the pulp and paper production processes.
DCLM (operated by Veolia) would like to find more environmentally friendly and economically viable ways to solidify the concentrate of their effluent treatment plant. They are seeking solutions utilising innovative solidification agents that can deal with large and increasing volumes of concentrate.
Jump start for start-ups:
To provide a platform for young companies in the realm of established players and pave the way for creative AM ideas to enter the market, Formnext organizes the Start-up Challenge annually.
The LACI Incubation program offers hands-on incubation services for Cleantech startups to grow in Los Angeles. The first four months of the program are dedicated to intensive curriculum workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions, and roundtables on go-to-market, investor readiness, and pilots. After the initial curriculum, the program is focused on achieving objectives outlined in a custom business roadmap of fundraising, product development, market access, team growth, pilot deployment, and partnerships.
Innovators is a core LACI accelerator program serving early-stage cleantech startups in Southern California. The one-year program is funded by the California Energy Commission’s Regional Energy Innovation Cluster (REIC) and aims to support early stage entrepreneurs launching their venture in California’s growing cleantech innovation ecosystem.
Are you an entrepreneur looking to scale a transformative climate technology? Are you invested in scaling a solution that brings both climate and social impact? Elemental are committed to bringing more funding, more projects, more solutions and more impact into the climate sector to deploy technologies in more communities in an equitable way.
Applications closed.
Thorlabs Canada currently uses cardboard trays as part of their optical component packaging. Thorlabs Canada is seeking a replacement for the current system and is particularly interested in using ecofriendly (i.e., made from nature-based materials + biodegradable) materials in an injection molding system to generate the trays. Thorlabs Canada would purchase the trays from a supplier and pay for the specific tooling to be developed.
Thorlabs Canada is seeking an eco-friendly material replacement for its’ fibre optic components. Currently a thermoset powder coating is used to coat the medical grade stainless steel capillary tube (see red tube in picture). The specific properties of this thermoset powder can be viewed in detail here.
TELUS is committed to circular economy principles and responsible resource use. As TELUS works to expand its PureFibre Network, fibre optic cables represent a growing waste stream that is currently going to landfill. As a result, TELUS is looking for sustainable solutions for recycling or upcycling fibre optic cables.
Start-ups are invited by Innovandi Open Challenge, an exciting international partnership programme, run by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) to work on the development of new materials and ingredients for low carbon concrete – a major step towards the ultimate goal of net zero concrete.
Applications open: 14 March 2023
Deadline: 30 May 2023
Malawians’ livelihood and safety are at risk with a changing climate. The UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is inviting its Network members to assist Malawi. Interested Network members are invited to submit a form, ‘Expression of Interest(EoI)’. For those who are interested, please visit the UNGM Portal (https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/199074) and click the blue button ‘Express Interest’ on your top right. All applicants should also be registered (free of charge) at United Nations Global Marketplace (www.ungm.org).
Applications closed.
The Circular Innovation Fund Acceleration Program aims to nurture selected pre-seed and seed-stage companies within the circular economy to bolster investment in an underserved sector, de-risk future CIF investments, and support the build-out of a broader collaborative ecosystem of circular companies at all stages of commercialization.
Applications closed.
Urban Future Prize Competition seeks to award the world’s most revolutionary climatetech innovations by bringing the brightest entrepreneurs together to compete for two cash prizes of $50K. The Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon is excited to offer a Future Vision Prize and a Climate Finance Prize, through the generous support of the New York Community Trust, NYSERDA, and MUFG. Find out more.
Applications closed.
If you are a UK-based SME, active in battery technologies for transport and energy storage, from anywhere within the battery supply chain (including materials and components, cells, modules and packs, recycling & enabling technologies) and are looking to raise investment, apply by 17:00 on 2nd May 2023 to be part of the Faraday Battery Challenge Investment Readiness Programme 2023 co-led by Innovate UK KTN.
Suzano wants to help develop the bio-economy along with great entrepreneurs with a structure of acceleration programs to leverage solutions that are in the laboratory phase or seeking commercial validation. The main target are deep tech startups with opportunity to create shared value, providing financial and strategic support to enterprises and, using Suzano’s wider network and resources, help to accelerate technologies to enable new bioproducts based on Suzano ́s eucalyptus forest as well increase digitalization and competitiveness of the forests.
This program offers unparalleled opportunities for emerging businesses to lead the way in biomass and sustainable packaging.
Pre-selections confirmed by 2 May.
Bp have launched three separate campaigns searching for innovators in the offshore wind sector, seeking collaborators from individuals to large-scale organizations who have new and exciting ideas – at any level of maturity – about how to implement on three campaign areas – circularity, system integration and ecology.
Applications closed.
C2V is now open for Cohort 3 , and they are seeking groundbreaking carbontech start-ups between TRL 4 and TRL 7 that are developing differentiated and scalable solutions that capture carbon and/or incorporate captured carbon as a major input for valorization.
Applications closed.
Climate Change
The Liveability Challenge is looking for disruptive innovations that can capture and utilise carbon to create scalable products for global markets, as well as solutions that can capture and store carbon at scale. TLC seek solutions that create value from the conservation or restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems in Southeast Asia.
Food & Nutrition
Aims to establish a circular urban agriculture or aquaculture system, or alternative protein system. TLC are seeking innovative and breakthrough technological solutions to maximise production efficiency and minimise resource requirements.
Applications closed.
Paper Excellence is looking for alternative packaging materials derived from lignin.
Paper Excellence is seeking an economical way to dewater/dry the biomass prior to its combustion.
Bell is seeking for technological solutions for renewable energy power generation, in order to reduce Bell’s carbon footprint.
Bell is looking for strategies for deploying and integrating new technologies and combining reliability and efficiency in the area of Fuel cells.
Bell seeks innovation solutions and technologies in alternative energy storage with aim to reduce utility consumption during peak hours.
Bell seeks adapted technological solutions in waste heat recovery. Challenge: where electricity is produced from waste heat, how to use the electricity produced to power telecom / IT equipment or other building loads.
Bell seeks adapted technological solutions Energy monitoring and management solutions, to improve energy management in its facilities.
COSIA’s members are seeking a ‘plug and play’ inline multiphase measurement technology suitable for detecting solvent and other additives in produced bitumen-water emulsion. Industry is seeking a solution to well measurement that is cost effective and reliable, with reasonable accuracy and fit for solvent recovery processes surveillance.
Paper Excellence is seeking for a syngas with an energy density that is similar to natural gas derived from available hog fuel.
Bell is seeking for technological solutions for renewable energy power generation, in order to reduce Bell’s carbon footprint.
Bell is looking for strategies for deploying and integrating new technologies and combining reliability and efficiency in the area of Fuel cells.
Startups addressing key challenges to US offshore wind development.
Applications closed.
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £20m across three strands, for the development of innovative solutions to address significant nutrition challenges. Your project must have the potential to impact the nutritional quality of food and drink products consumed by the UK population:
Applications closed.
Singapore’s National Water Agency is scaling digital and smart solutions by providing funding, resources, and pilot opportunities with the utility.
Pilot program for start-ups in water, waste, agriculture and food which can green Diageo’s business and wider.
Current open program in agriculture to build resilience in Diageo’s smallholder farmer communities.
Kraft Heinz are searching for innovative solutions from start-ups to unleash the power of tomatoes, delivering on taste, sustainability, nutrition, convenience and/or affordability.
Applications closed.
Accelerator program for innovators within the fashion supply chain. No equity 9-month accelerator programme.
Applications closed.
How much information should you share? What's essential? Optional? Part One of our Fast Guide to Successful Innovation zeroes in on what you need to do to connect with the decision makers in all the right ways.
Selling your idea or product to new audience can be as daunting as it is exciting. Our checklist takes you through a plan for getting the the best possible outcome.
Understanding your potential new partner's requirements, and even their language, will help you benefit from the process, manage your feedback and respond with useful information.
The voluntary carbon market (VCM), where large corporates are paying for offsets to reduce their net-emissions to reach net-zero carbon goal...
By Holly Stower
At Cleantech Group, we provide research, consulting and events to catalyze opportunities for sustainable growth powered by innovation. We bring clients access to the trends, companies and people shaping the future and the customized advice and support businesses need to engage external innovation.
Industries are undergoing definitive transitions toward a more digitized, de-carbonized and resource-efficient industrial future. At every stage from initial strategy to final deals, our services bring corporate change makers, investors, governments and stakeholders from across the ecosystem, the support they need to thrive in this fast-arriving and uncertain future.
The company was established in 2002 and is headquartered in San Francisco with with offices in Asia, Europe and North America.
Get To Know Us