More than 3,000 entrepreneurs from 56 countries participated in the ClimateLaunchpad 2020. This year’s global climate competition took place online from 30 September to 2 October.
The winner, Cassetex, is a solar-powered battery swapping service for electric 3-wheelers in Bangladesh. The team hopes to transition more than one million vehicles and save 0.47 megaton of CO2 per year. “Being amongst the top start-ups in the world is a tremendous recognition for Cassetex and Bangladesh. The transport sector is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and one of the toughest sectors to bring change to. We are humbled by this award, and we hope it will help us solve the critical challenges in the transport sector in Bangladesh,” says Gopal Kumar Mohoto, Co-Founder and CTO of Cassetex.
Second prize goes to Sosei, from Uruguay, a company that provides tailored solutions to help farmers and agricultural companies ease into regenerative agriculture while optimizing profits and minimizing risks. In third place comes Carbon Craft Design, a Mumbai based design and material innovation start-up building architectural and interior products by upcycling carbon emissions.
In an opening video broadcasted on Thursday, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said the climate crisis was the defining task of our generation, and that there was no time for short term fixes. “Investing in green growth pays back and will help to build back better,” he added, also highlighting the holistic approach of ClimateLaunchpad. Rowan Barnett, Head of Google’s philanthropy Google.org EMEA and APAC, and David Pistoni, Co-Founder of Spanish hyperloop company Zeleros also participated in a discussion with EIT Climate-KIC’s CEO Kirsten Dunlop on how to harness the power of technology, systems innovation, and entrepreneurship to accelerate the green recovery.
“The winners of this year’s ClimateLaunchpad Grand Finale are absolutely inspiring,” says Kirsten Dunlop. “The competition shows how many entrepreneurs have the expertise, the ingenuity and the dedication to help us tackle the biggest climate challenges. ClimateLaunchpad offers green entrepreneurs from all around the world the chance to transform their best ideas into a company, a product, and jobs for people in their community. The programme was able to flourish once again this year and I look forward to seeing this innovation community continue to grow and become stronger in the coming years.”
A total of 972 entrepreneurs completed a self-paced online learning curriculum this year, while 780 start-ups participated in a full training programme globally. Winning teams of National and Regional Finals were invited to compete in the Global Grand Final, resulting in 68 teams pitching in front of expert jury panels this week.
Celebrating outstanding climate innovators, ClimateLaunchpad winners were chosen by an international jury that looked at the business potential of the finalists’ idea as well as the social impact, job creation, climate impact and the quality of their pitch. They were categorised in eight main themes: Resilient Regions, Climate-Friendly Food, Healthy Clean Cities, Circular Economies, Clean Energy Systems, Sustainable Mobility, Cleantech, and The Next Big Thing. The top 16 teams selected by the jury to perform in the Final Round of the Global Grand Final will get direct access to the EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator programme for climate positive start-ups.
More detailed information on all finalists and their start-ups can be found on https://globalfinal.climatelaunchpad.org/
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About ClimateLaunchpad
ClimateLaunchpad is the global green business ideas competition. Its mission is to address the negative impacts of climate change by ways of innovation, invention and entrepreneurship. A green future demands thousands of innovations challenging the current business models. The competition supports aspiring and promising cleantech entrepreneurs with training, coaching and networking opportunities. ClimateLaunchpad operates on a global scale, currently in over 56 countries. ClimateLaunchpad was established in 2014 and is part of the Entrepreneurship offerings of EIT Climate-KIC.
About EIT Climate-KIC
EIT Climate-KIC is one of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) established in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the EU body that creates sustainable economic growth in Europe, tackling the global challenges of this time. www.climate-kic.org
About the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
The EIT is an independent body of the European Union set up in 2008 to spur innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe to overcome some of its greatest challenges. It brings together leading higher education institutions, research labs and companies to form dynamic cross-border partnerships – Knowledge and Innovation Communities, KICs – that develop innovative products and services, start new companies, and train a new generation of entrepreneurs. https://eit.europa.eu
