In October 2025, Cleantech Scandinavia sat down with Adam Podgórski, who co-founded Green14 together with Jan Dinkelspiel, to hear what’s been going on since their victory in Nordic Cleantech Open 2024. Adam is a chemical engineer from the solar industry who together with Jan, had a bold idea: to make silicon production greener — and strengthen the European value chain by localizing production. The name says it all: “Green” for sustainability, and “14” for silicon’s chemical number on the periodic table.

In 2024, the Green14 team won the 12th edition of the Nordic Cleantech Open (NCO) — an experience Adam describes as “amazing and truly one of a kind among cleantech events.” During Nordic Camp, they pitched to around 25 investors, had one-on-one meetings, and built connections that would last well beyond the competition.

So, what’s happened since they won? We caught up with Adam from Green14 in October 2025 to hear what’s been going on since their victory.

Thanks to the multiple stages of NCO that culminated in Cleantech Capital Day in Helsinki 2024, Green14 left with a treasure trove of contacts, fantastic exposure, and even a few memorable photos — you might recall the iconic shot of Adam covered in confetti that made its way into more than a few articles and posts!

Photos: Left: The prize ceremony where Adam Podgórski, CEO of Green14, is captured moments after learning he had won the Nordic Cleantech Open 2024 in Helsinki, Finland. Right: Adam joined by the incredible runners-up — Jacob Schaldemose Peterson, CEO of Re:meat and Sára Nožková, CEO of Flox Robotics — two other Swedish companies making waves in the climate tech space. 

Their journey didn't stop in Helsinki. Not long after their NCO win, Green14 secured a major investment: €2 million from Ingka Investments, the investment arm of IKEA, in early 2025.  

Thanks to this, as well as substantial funding from the Swedish Energy Agency, Green14 has grown from 4 to 16 employees in just over a year. The focus has been on building the team and scaling their technology, and the team plans to hire another 10 people in the near future, covering engineering, IP, and corporate sales. They have established key partner relationships during 2025, allowing them to test producing even more materials in their reactor to extend their customer base. Another exciting development is that Green14 is currently building a full-scale demo facility set to become commercial in 2028. 

Photo: A big part of the growing Green14 team in front of their reactor at their headquarters at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. Joined by one of Adam’s best friends and valuable teammates, Freya the dog.  

Since Green14’s time in NCO, the market winds have shifted. Investors have turned their gaze toward resilience and defense, and Green14 has evolved with the times — moving from silicon to the exciting world of aerospace metals like titanium alloy and tungsten.

Their vision? To one day license out their tech to major industry players to have 100+ reactors running. To get there, they’ve brought in three mathematicians/AI engineers — including one former NASA researcher — who are building a digital twin of the reactor: a virtual copy of a machine so hot that no sensor on Earth survives inside it. This digital twin is a potential game-changer: instead of spending weeks (and money) testing different reactor settings to find the right “recipe” for turning material waste into high-value metal powder, companies can simulate everything up front. Faster, cheaper, smarter production from day one. 

Green14 is currently raising around €6 million — about half already secured through an external VC fund and existing owners — to scale production and deliver their first commercial batches of metal powder. Their valuation sits comfortably within the European deeptech scale-up range, with more investor discussions already underway ahead of a larger round planned for late 2026. 

And they now have several patents to process >15 materials contributing to greater circular production of raw materials. With visits from Prince Daniel of Sweden, Sweden’s Minister for the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari, and EU Minister Jessica Roswall, who joined Green14 to discuss circularity and resilience in the EU – it’s clear that they’re playing a big part in shaping Europe’s industrial future.

Photos: Left: Adam from Green14 hosts a visit from Sweden's Minister for the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari and Prince Daniel at their Stockholm facility. Right: Adam and Jan Dinkelspiel from Green14 welcome EU Minister Jessica Roswall for discussions on innovation and circularity. 

Reflecting on NCO, the founder emphasizes that while events provide excellent visibility and networking, deep tech companies need strong technology validation and customer traction to attract investors. One-on-one conversations are more productive than mass pitches, and timing and market focus are critical for investment success. 

For Adam and the rest of the Green14 team, this is just the beginning. With new plans on the horizon and fresh faces soon joining the journey, their story is far from over. Nordic Cleantech Open was a key stepping stone on their cleantech adventure — and with the 13th edition coming up in 2026, it could be your turn next! 

Photo: An embrace by the top 3 from NCO's 12th edition: Adam from Green14, Jacob Petersson from Re:meat (now Curve) and Sara Nozkova from Flox.

Only one company takes the top prize, but Nordic Cleantech Open is built on collaboration and camaraderie — a space where climate tech founders lift each other up and makes sure every participant feels celebrated. After all, founding a company is one of the biggest achievements in itself and us at Cleantech Scandinavia feel so proud and inspired by all companies that took part.