· 4 min read
The Davos Green Accelerator, powered by illuminem, brought to the attention of global leaders convening in Davos the most innovative solutions tackling climate change.
The event was opened by a ground-breaking reflection by Prof. Nouriel Roubini. The renowned economist highlighted “climate as ‘the’ mega threat of our generation… while China’s possible takeover of Siberia is [in his words] the mega threat of the next two years”.
Top climate-tech startups in Davos
A curated selection of 20+ startups, many of which are part of our Global ESG Alliance, was given the stage to pitch their solutions for some of the world’s most pressing issues. Our editorial team is proud to report exclusively here the list (selected by an independent jury):
AgerOliva (Florence, Italy) 🇮🇹
Founder: Tommaso Dami
Description: Restoring Tuscan natural olive oil plantations with online crowd-adoption, thus increasing oil production in countryside communities and capturing CO2
AirOWater (Mumbai, India) 🇮🇳
Founder: Shuhojit Mahalanobis
Description: Developing pioneering technology to produce clean & drinkable water from the moisture in the air
BioTara (Paramaribo, Suriname) 🇸🇷
Founder: John Goedshalk
Description: Creating climate-positive wild oils for cosmeceutical markets while preserving the environment and forests
Climeworks (Zurich, Switzerland) 🇨🇭
Founder: Jan Wurzbacher
Description: Enabling people & companies to remove Carbon Dioxide through pioneering Carbon Capture & Storage
Carbon Credit Technology (Cayman Islands) 🇰🇾
Founder: Zhiliang Li
Description: Mining the first cryptocurrency that is backed by European Union Allowance (EUA) – the most traded carbon credits in the world
Cold Water (Zurich, Switzerland) 🇨🇭
Founder: Julian Connor
Description: Operating sustainable land based fish farms to reduce negative impacts of traditional fisheries
CMBlu Energy (Alzenau, Germany) 🇩🇪
Founder: Dr. Nastaran Krawczyk
Description: Producing high-performance batteries with organic materials to make energy storage more sustainable and safe
Empire State Greenhouses (New York, USA) 🇺🇸
Founder: Louis Ferro
Description: Developing circular economy systems to produce food in carbon-negative facilities
Fashion for Biodiversity Solutions (Hagen, Germany) 🇩🇪
Founder: Prakash Chandra
Description: Leveraging AI and Blockchain to enhance compliance with environmental regulations in the fashion industry
Forest Carbon (Jakarta, Indonesia) 🇮🇩
Founder: Chris Donn
Description: Restoring degraded wetland forests by mapping and conserving the habitats with the help of local communities
H2GO Power (London, UK) 🇬🇧
Founder: Luke Sperrin
Description: Pioneering the development of green hydrogen storage solutions to power the energy transition
Openversum (Zurich, Switzerland) 🇨🇭
Founder: Dr. Olivier Gröninger
Description: Providing safe drinking water for people in need, by microfranchising water filtration technology
Positive Carbon (Dublin, Ireland) 🇮🇪
Founder: Aisling Kirwan
Description: Allowing companies and the hospitality industry to monitor and eliminate food waste
Responsible Alpha (Vienna, Austria) 🇦🇹
Founder: Gabriel Thoumi
Description: Advising corporates & ESG investors transition towards a low-carbon, sustainable future
Sustainable Planet (London, UK) 🇬🇧
Founder: Sven Kaufmann
Description: Combating food insecurity by producing sustainable plant based protein
Solmeyea (Athens, Greece) 🇬🇷
Founder: Vasilis Stenos
Description: Producing more efficiently “carbon neutral” high value bio ingredient-based proteins, through vertical microalgae cultivation & harvesting
TwingTec (Dübendorf, Switzerland)🇨🇭
Founder: Dr. Dino Costa
Description: Building an innovative drone to harvest cheaper electricity from stronger winds at high altitudes
T_NEUTRAL (Madrid, Spain) 🇪🇸
Founder: Mariana Gramunt
Description: Reducing the environmental impacts of textile production by allowing producers to measure, reduce and offset their production footprint
Ucaneo Biotech (Berlin, Germany) 🇩🇪
Founder: Carla Glassi
Description: Pioneering Direct Air Capture with the world's first cell-free synthetic biology solution
The event also included an open discussion featuring, alphabetically: Dr. Isabelle Canu (Partner at the Green European Tech Fund), Jason Jay (Director of the MIT Sustainability Initiative), Dr. Mihaela Ulieru (President of the IMPACT Institute for the Digital Economy), Milena Nikolova ( Partner at AERA VC), Nisaa Jetha (Advisor at Dakia U-Ventures), Olga Hamama (Founder of Planet FC), Dr. Robert Max Holmes (President of the Woodwell Climate Research Center), Susan M. Natali (TED Audacious Project), Tod Hynes (Founder, XL Fleet) and Rouven Dresselhaus (Partner at Cavalry Ventures). The event was organized by Zdenka E. Rezacova (Founder of the Davos Green Accelerator) with Seema Gupta, Gerry van der Sluys and Katja Filippenko.
Please get in touch with our Team to receive more information and/or participate at our future events at COP28, Asia Climate Forum, Climate Week NYC, London Climate Tech Show, Venice Biennale (among others).
Enjoy some of the pictures taken at the Davos Green Accelerator event below!