The Global Innovation Hub
WHERE CLEANTECH ENTREPRENEURS MEET OPPORTUNITIES

What Will You Do Next?

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.

Featured Challenges

Innovation Challenges

You can search and filter through challenges by typing in the search field or by using the dropdowns below.

  • Sectors

  • Challenge Owners

  • Deadlines

  • Locations

ADNOC

$1 Million Decarbonization Technology Challenge

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.

Application Deadline: 11 August 2023

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Elemental Excelerator

ClimateTech Funding Opportunity

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.

Application Deadline: 31 May 2023

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UN Climate Technology Centre and Network

Piloting and Deployment of Technologies in Local Conditions

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).

 

Application Deadline: 29 May 2023

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Greentown Labs

Advancing Solutions For Carbon Utilization, Storage and Traceability

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.

Application Deadline: 4 August 2023

Apply Now

Urban Future Lab

Urban Future Prize Competition

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.

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Innovate UK

Faraday Battery Challenge Investment Readiness Programme

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.

Apply Now

Circular Innovation Fund

Acceleration Program

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.

Application Deadline: 29 May 2023

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Suzano Ventures

Bio-Solutions Startup Program

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.

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LCBA Canada

Biodegradable Injection Molding for Packaging Applications | Thorlabs

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.

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LCBA Canada

Environmentally Friendly Thermoset Coating | Thorlabs

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.

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LCBA Canada

Sustainable Solutions for Recycling or Upcycling Fiber Optic Cable | Telus

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.

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bp Innovation

Commercial Opportunity with the bp Offshore Wind team

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.

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Global Cement and Concrete Association

Open Innovation Challenge Call

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

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Innovate UK

Better Food for All: Innovation For Improved Nutrition

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:

  • Enhancing food quality
  • Stratified nutrition
  • Fortified and biofortified foods
  • Plant-based and alternative proteins
  • Preservation, packaging and storage technologies

Applications closed.

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The Liveability Challenge (TLC)

Climate Change & Food & Nutrition Challenges

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.

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Urban Future Lab

Offshore Wind Innovation Hub Accelerator program

Startups addressing key challenges to US offshore wind development.

Applications closed.

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Carbon to Value

Accelerator Program

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.

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Chevron Technology Ventures, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Chevron Studio: Carbon Utilization, Hydrogen and Renewable Energy,  Energy Storage Systems

Chevron Studio is a one-of-a-kind program in partnership with Chevron Technology Ventures and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) designed to help entrepreneurs build companies by linking them with world-class, early-stage technologies developed at national labs and universities. The program provides assistance to the entrepreneurs to help them scale up and commercialize these technologies.

Applications closed.

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Innovate UK

Faraday Battery Challenge

The Faraday Battery Challenge will support UK registered Small, Micro and Medium-sized, businesses only to apply for a share of up to £1.5 million to increase and facilitate their engagement with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.

Applications closed.

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LCBA Canada

Fuel Cells for Emergency Power Generation | Bell Canada

Bell is looking for strategies for deploying and integrating new technologies and combining reliability and efficiency in the area of Fuel cells.

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LCBA Canada

DC+ Energy Storage Solutions | Bell Canada

Bell is seeking for technological solutions for renewable energy power generation, in order to reduce Bell’s carbon footprint.

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LCBA Canada

Syngas solutions from wet bark and wood waste feedstock | Paper Excellence

Paper Excellence is seeking for a syngas with an energy density that is similar to natural gas derived from available hog fuel.

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LCBA Canada

Manufacturing of lignin-based packaging materials | Paper Excellence

Paper Excellence is looking for alternative packaging materials derived from lignin.

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LCBA Canada

Dewatering biomass for combustion | Paper Excellence

Paper Excellence is seeking an economical way to dewater/dry the biomass prior to its combustion.

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LCBA Canada

Renewable Power Generation | Bell Canada

Bell is seeking for technological solutions for renewable energy power generation, in order to reduce Bell’s carbon footprint.

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LCBA Canada

Fuel Cells for Emergency Power Generation | Bell Canada

Bell is looking for strategies for deploying and integrating new technologies and combining reliability and efficiency in the area of Fuel cells.

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LCBA Canada

Alternative Energy Storage | Bell Canada

Bell seeks innovation solutions and technologies in alternative energy storage with aim to reduce utility consumption during peak hours.

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LCBA Canada

Waste Heat Recovery | Bell Canada

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.

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LCBA Canada

Energy Monitoring and Management Solutions | Bell Canada

Bell seeks adapted technological solutions Energy monitoring and management solutions, to improve energy management in its facilities.

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LCBA Canada

Cosia Challenge on Solvent and Non-Solvent Additives Measurement

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. 

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Kraft Heinz

Unleash the Power of Tomatoes from Seed to Shelf

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.

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Sustainable Ventures

Innovation Challenge: Lambeth

Sustainable Ventures is launching a competition to help SMES & Established Businesses solve their net zero challenges and Innovators scale their solutions particularly in low carbon buildings, waste management, behavior change, and low carbon mobility.

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PUB

PUB Global Innovation Challenge

Singapore’s National Water Agency is scaling digital and smart solutions by providing funding, resources, and pilot opportunities with the utility.

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Imagine H2O

Pilot Funding & Scale Up Support

Asia-Pacific water challenges that are addressed by entrepreneurs receive pilot funding and scale up support with partners.

Applications closed.

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Plug-and-Play

Mobility Accelerator

Autonomous vehicles, connectivity, electrification, smart cities.

Rolling applications year round. Stage-agnostic.

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EcoLabs

EcoLabs-Continental Urban Mobility Accelerator

Spanning urban mobility, electrification, energy efficiency, and sustainable transport.

Open to applicants in all regions/continents.

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EVA

Electric Vehicle Accelerator

Charging infrastructure, EV fleets, services supporting electric mobility.

Announced in April 2022. Open to companies located beyond Singapore.

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Imagine H2O Asia

Accelerator Program

Accelerator program for water technologies in Asia tackling climate change, increasing efficiency, health and equity.

Supported by Enterprise Singapore, SUEZ, Xylem and others.
Applications open in June 2023

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Fashion for Good

Fashion Accelerator Program

Accelerator program for innovators within the fashion supply chain. No equity 9-month accelerator programme.

Applications closed.

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Diageo Sustainable Solutions

Pilot Program

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.

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Get our Guides to Successful Innovation and Put Your Company Ahead of the Rest

Fast Guide to Successful Innovation Part One: How to Smash the Innovation Challenge Application

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.

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Fast Guide to Successful Innovation Part Two: Pitching a Cleantech Company - Your Checklist for Success

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.

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Fast Guide to Successful Innovation Part Three: How to Get the Most from your Corporate Cleantech Partner

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.

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Insights to Support Your Progress

06/01/2023

Greening Critical Metals – Mining and Recycling

Mining can be an environmental and social disaster – causing 4-7% of all global GHG emissions (scope 1 and 2), pollution, water stress, de...

By Holly Stower and Buff Lopez

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The company was established in 2002 and is headquartered in San Francisco with with offices in Asia, Europe and North America.

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