Winners announced for ClimateLaunchpad, Europe’s largest competition for the next generation cleantech entrepreneurs
ClimateLaunchpad has just announced the winners of Europe’s largest start-up competition with primary focus on solving climate change.
Amsterdam, September 4, 2015 – Desert Control from Norway has been announced as the winner of this year’s ClimateLaunchpad competition, winning €10,000 and a place in the prestigious Climate-KIC Accelerator for their business case which is about transforming desert and dry, sandy soil into productive farmland. Two further teams have also been awarded cash prizes. The top 10 teams have also been rewarded a place on Accelerator programme to commercialise their ground-breaking cleantech business ideas.
The winners of the ClimateLaunchpad European Final are:
- First prize: Desert Control, Norway
- Second prize: Arctus, Iceland
- Third prize: ReLaDe, Estonia
This year’s competition attracted a record number entrants, with over 700 cleantech entrepreneurs applying from across 28 countries. A total of 82 teams were shortlisted to enter the challenging ClimateLaunchpad programme to refine their business offering, including perfecting their business model, value proposition and pitch.
At the ClimateLaunchpad European Final in Amsterdam, each of these 82 teams pitched to a renowned jury that judged the entrepreneurs on real-world criteria including feasibility, scalability, job creation and climate impact.
The three highly promising winners will now enter the Climate-KIC Accelerator, the world’s first 18-month business school for cleantech entrepreneurs to develop their innovations and fast-track their businesses.
Andreas Julseth, a participant from Desert Control, says:
“We are thrilled to have been chosen as ClimateLaunchpad winners. The trainers and the other participants really helped to bring out the best in ourselves. We knew we had a great idea, but through the programme we have been able to validate that there is market out there. We look forward to taking our business to the next level in the Climate-KIC Accelerator.”
The road to winning this competition was demanding and competitive. Every team went through a highly demanding programme to refine business aspects, including perfecting their business model, value proposition and pitch.
Clear message to COP 21 Paris: Invest in entrepreneurs to tackle climate change
Frans Nauta, Deputy-Director Entrepreneurship Climate-KIC and also founding father of ClimateLaunchpad, says: “The ClimateLaunchpad European Final was an amazing event, showcasing so many great business ideas, all with the potential to create new jobs and economic growth in Europe. Today, start-ups from all over Europe are sending a clear message to the COP21 negotiations in Paris: Invest in entrepreneurs if you want to tackle climate change. It is the single biggest business opportunity of the 21st century”.
Click here for more detailed information on all finalists, whose business ideas span a broad range of sectors including energy, water, transportation and urban development.
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Note to editors:
For more information about ClimateLaunchpad, the European Final, press and interview requests for Frans Nauta and/or finalists please contact:
Heleen Ririassa
t: (31/6) 462 464 26
Pictures of ClimateLaunchpad winners 2015
Climate-KIC’s ClimateLaunchpad 2015: First Prize: Desert Control, Second Prize: Arctus and Third Prize ReLaDe: http://we.tl/6DrezH3Rs2
ClimateLaunchpad videos:
- General introductory film
- Interview Timo Spijkerboer – MyFarm App
- Interview Bart van Limpt – Delft IMP
- Interview Erki Ani and Timea Marócsik – Prasinus Tech
About ClimateLaunchpad
ClimateLaunchpad is Europe’s largest cleantech business idea competition, organised for the second time in 2015. It’s mission is to unlock Europe’s cleantech potential that addresses climate change. ClimateLaunchpad is a programme by Climate-KIC.
About Climate-KIC
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 with the task of creating sustainable economic growth in Europe, where the global challenges of this time to be tackled. www.climate-kic.org
Results Climate-KIC
Climate-KIC has booked impressive results since 2010. It participated in giving birth to over 400 new cleantech start-ups. These efforts have been producing an incredible multiplier effect. The start-ups raised over € 100 million in external funding and have strong records as job creators.
About the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
http://eit.europa.eu/eit-community/eit-glance
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.
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