ClimateLaunchpad announces 2021 competition winners
Climate KIC’s ClimateLaunchpad – the world’s largest green business ideas competition – has announced the three winners of its 2021 edition: SMDPower Solutions (India), Entomo Farm (Zambia) and Qaptis (Switzerland). Over 2100 climate tech start-ups from over 55 countries participated in the initiative that aims to unlock the world’s cleantech potential to tackle climate change.
The ClimateLaunchpad programme offers aspiring cleantech entrepreneurs a pathway to business success and global impact in the fight against climate change. These entrepreneurs are unlocking the world’s cleantech potential with breakthrough solutions in emissions reduction and climate adaptation that can revolutionise the way we consume, move and live.
“Help us to understand how to expand and how to spread, how to partner and how to embrace new opportunities from different locations and regions and working across the world. Please do join our mission to work together to support climate entrepreneurs and to help everyone to grow and build ecosystems that are valuable for climate impact,” said Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of Climate KIC
- The overall winner SMDPower Solutions, an energy start-up from India, designed an AI-driven IoT for existing air conditioners to cool rooms sensibly and reduce electricity waste. Its control algorithms save more than 50 per cent of electricity otherwise required to power a split-system air conditioner.
- Runner-up business Entomo Farm from Zambia tackles the challenge of providing affordable, sustainable, healthy and organic feed and food options, by supplying organic livestock feed based on edible insects. Its high protein and nutrient content make it perfect for a variety of applications, offering a healthier and more sustainable source of feed to local farms and communities.
- Qaptis from Switzerland took the third place with their kit to retrofit heavy vehicles (such as trucks and ships) and stationary engines to capture CO2 emissions without any energy loss. The kit can capture up to 90 per cent of the CO2 and store it in liquid form, which can then be reused in different applications (materials, plastics, synthetic fuels).
The three 2021 global ClimateLaunchpad winners were chosen by an expert jury that looked at business potential as well as social impact, job creation, climate impact and the quality of the business pitch. They were categorised in seven main themes: Adaptation and Resilience, Circular Economies, Urban Solutions, Clean Energy, Sustainable Mobility, Food Systems and The Next Big Thing.
More information on all finalists and their start-ups can be found at https://globalfinal.climatelaunchpad.org/