For 11 years the Nordic Cleantech Open competition has served as an observation tower for the UP AND COMING cleantech innovation trends THAT WILL support the transition to a low carbon reality
For 11 years the Nordic Cleantech Open has brought together entrepreneurs, investors, industry and government to shape the innovation landscape with the goal of building a more sustainable future. The organizer of the competition, Cleantech Scandinavia, aims to bridge the gap between innovators looking for funding and venture capital looking for new opportunities of climate impact investments.
The 25 selected companies bring promising and ready-to-scale innovations and market proposition, and they were selected out of 137 applicants by a jury of about 50 international members from venture capital firms, multinational industries, the utility sector, development agencies and the public investment scene. These experts were the ones to analyse the 137 applications based on their level of innovation, market potential and the ability of the team to execute.
Air Forestry AB
Sweden
AirForestry is focused on creating healthier forests by thinning out trees from the sky with autonomous and electric aerial harvesting drones, without damaging the soil, roots or nature. By using the company’s drones, you can increase the forests’ ability to sequester carbon by freeing up 20 percent of forest land currently used for forestry access roads. Since their launch in 2020, AirForestry has grown to more than 22 employees.
Arctus Aluminium Ltd
Iceland
Zero CO2 emission is the goal for the aluminium industry which has been working for decades on development of CO2 emission free process by replacing the carbon anodes. The Icelandic company Arctus Aluminium has developed a aluminium process with multiple vertical metallic inert anodes and ceramic cathodes in low temperature (800 °C) electrolyte according to the process formula; 2 Al2O3 = 4 Al + 3 O2. Oxygen is therefore emitted instead of CO2. Arctus is now working with our industrial partner Trimet Aluminium in Germany in scaling up the cells for a pilot plant in Essen and then a demonstration plant.
Awake.ai
Finland
Awake.AI is an optimization platform for port bound cargo flow reducing turnaround times and waiting times by 20-30% which reduces emissions at the same rate. The logistics industry is lagging behind in automation within the digital revolution. This leads to millions of extra CO2 produced and billions of euros wasted for non-value adding outdated basic logistic operations. Trajectory for emissions shows the industry must optimize the logistic chains, reduce the cargo flow waste and have solutions for capacity utilization increase. Awake’s AI software platform does just that.
B’zeos
Norway
Recycling is not solving our global plastic pollution issues. Bio plastics made from land-based feedstock are creating more issues than solutions, banning Single Use Plastics impact both food and non-food industries. B’zeos uses brown seaweed, also known as brown kelp, to make a new flexible film packaging material that is home-compostable, marine degradable, bio-digestible and non-chemically modified. This material has comparable properties to plastic but are 100% bio-based, renewable and are not chemically modified, and therefore not considered as plastic following the Single Use Plastic Directive Guidelines (SUPD).
BeeFutures
Norway
Beefutures combines biotechnology, data science and 30 years of beekeeping know-how to address the major bee health challenges of our times. Beefutures has developed a comprehensive suite of solutions to save the bees and make beekeeping sustainable again. Combining the cure and digital monitoring goes beyond beekeeping, it provides a unique spatial and temporal insight into the world of bees and their interaction with our environment. The result is a bee Data Index that can drive profound environmental transformations toward sustainability and recovery ecosystem health in human exploited areas.
Bintel AB
Sweden
Bintel delivers a full vertical waste management solution providing customers with actionable data where hardware (level measuring sensors), connectivity, cloud-based integration platform and web-based analytics are included.
CognitiweAI OÜ
Estonia
Cognitiwe develops AI based products to improve sustainability and efficiency for its customers. Providing real time insights and predictions, Cognitiwe’s products improve sustainability and efficiency by saving resources, energy and cost. Cognitiwe aims to make this products reachable to all sizes businesses so any company that has access to an off the shelf IP camera and to the cloud can start are start using without any marginal upfront investments. With these products Cognitiwe managed to reach major customers like, Stellantis Group, MAF Carrefour and Migros.
Cogo app
Denmark
Cogo is an app that gathers shared electric scooters, cars, bikes and mopeds from over 250 mobility operators in 700 cities worldwide. Additionally, Cogo offer the worlds most comprehensive price comparison tool allowing users to compare price and travel time across all operators and vehicle types in one simple search. Cogo is working to improve the cities we live in so they only include human or electric powered vehicles.
Compular Tech AB
Sweden
Compular revolutionizes material development with its novel simulation software. Thereby material developers become more efficient and innovative through the ability to predict material properties of new compositions. This leads to more effective processes, shortened development cycles and the creation of more high performing and sustainable complex materials. Compular focuses on battery materials as a first vertical and are already working with leading companies in the field to help speed up the green energy transition.
DynElectro
Denmark
The world needs CO2-neutral fuels. This is where green hydrogen comes into the equation but the lifetime of the core materials is the current limitation for the hydrogen’s electrolysis process. DynElectro has discovered a way to extend lifetime by up to 5x.
Current electrolysis systems operate on direct current (DC). With a modified power converter, we overlay an alternating current (AC) on top of the direct current. We do this hundreds of times per second. This rapid and reversing current acts to impact and protect the molecular structure of the core material performing the valuable electrolysis process.
eniferBio Oy
Finland
eniferBio is brewing a protein revolution by breathing new life into the world’s first mycoprotein process – PEKILO. It was successfully used in Finland in the 1970s and 80s to convert forest by-products into feed protein, and eniferBio is now taking this tried-and-tested process to the next level using cutting edge biotech.
InfoTiles
Norway
Globally, using water sustainably is becoming more important. Ageing infrastructure, inadequate investment and changing climate are all contributing to an internationally recognised crisis. Data can help address these challenges, but legacy equipment provides disconnected data that is not fit for decision-makers. InfoTiles provides software that combines and enriches data from different silos, including legacy water utility systems. When enriched with public data, utilities discover new insights and make sustainable decisions based on facts leading to sustainable water use in our communities.
Klimate Aps
Denmark
Klimate help companies compensate for their unavoidable CO₂ emissions with portfolios combining different carbon removal methods. Allowing companies to:
- Take full responsibility for their emissions.
- To help scale an industry that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined to be necessary for us (the world) to achieve the targets set forth by the Paris agreement.
Studies show that companies that take action will reap rewards from stakeholders (e.g customers, employees or investors). Hence carbon removal is not only good for the climate, it is also good for business.
Material Mapper AS
Norway
Today, it is almost impossible to reuse construction materials at scale due to the fragmented industry, lack of information flow between the government and corporates and lagging digitalization. Material Mapper has an in-house built algorithm that estimate the amounts of materials that will become available for repurposing from a demolished, renovated or newly built building, also allowing to measure the CO2 emission savings that would result from reusing materials Vs. utilizing virgin materials.
Novige AB
Sweden
Novige AB develops NoviOcean, a breakthrough wave energy technology with the goal of “saving the climate with profitable wave power.” NoviOcean is set apart from other marine energy solutions due to:
- Simple design, low weight and the use of well-proven parts
- Being a versatile platform for hybrid configurations with solar PV, energy storage and hydrogen
- Global licensing to impact the reduction of GHG emissions
Via its LIFE programme project, Novige will demonstrate its first full-scale 500-kW pilot by 2025.Novige is now looking for max 2 large industrial partners and/or venture capitalists.
Onego Bio Ltd
Finland
Onego Bio is biotech company that has developed a way to produce egg white without chickens. The company’s product, Bioalbumen, is produced with a safe, sustainable, and cost-efficient precision fermentation process that creates identical egg white protein without the need for animals. We have a big mission: We want to rethink eggs and give people access to a delicious healthy animal-free food. Because of its unique functional properties, egg white is difficult to replace with alternative ingredients. Bioalbumen will make it possible to manufacture the same delicious foods entirely animal-free.
Origin by Ocean
Finland
We rid the oceans of harmful algae and turn it into everyday goods. Our mission is to make the chemical industry run on algae. Reclaiming the oceans requires reclaiming the origin of the chemical products in our everyday consumer products too. Instead of oil, their origins will be algae-based: ecological, decomposable, and renewable. We believe that in order for things to happen at a massive scale, it has to be turned into an industry. One with a reimagined value chain. The planetary problems are going to get worse before they get better. Our plan is to set up our biorefineries in the spots that will be most affected by eutrophication. Our patented biorefining process makes it possible to extract valuable bio-based chemicals from harvested invasive algae and ecologically farmed seaweed.
Packoorang AS
Norway
Today, most of packaging is single use. Packoorang is two-fold solution to make a circular packaging as a Service – namely a digital solution and physical packaging solutions. It connects the consumer, company, logistics and cleaning and quality check in a digital environment. It secures incentives for returns with all parties/interests involved. It is scalable across geography.
Peafowl Plasmonics
Sweden
Peafowl Plasmonics is a deep tech start-up company based in Uppsala, Sweden. We empower the next generation of electronic applications by using plasmonics technology for light harvesting. Initial markets are low-power devices that benefit from being self-powered, for example indoor sensors, e-paper displays and dynamic windows. The completely transparent light harvesting cells of Peafowl bring new, beautiful, and sustainable energy solutions.
Real Relief ApS
Denmark
At Real Relief we design, manufacture and supply a large variety of effective, durable, life-saving relief items, focusing on sustainability, empowerment and environmental friendliness. We are genuinely invested and truly committed to improving the lives of the less fortunate and therefore offer exactly what we promise: Real Relief!
River Recycle
Finland
RiverRecycle has created a unique business model to offer problem owners – national and local governments – a sustainable river cleaning service without the need for constant funding. Our patented technology effectively cleans the rivers from plastic pollution and our circular business model provides hosting communities with decent jobs and social and environmental improvement. In a circular economy, we create a waste management system that supports local municipalities in effectively managing plastic waste. This model offers communities safe and fair work and helps to stimulate the economy by involving companies who will buy the end products of the river cleaning and recycling system. Our developers are working on projects in seven different countries, and we plan to install 500 river cleaning solutions over the next eight years.
TEGmat Aps
Denmark
TEGmat – making industrial-scale thermal energy harvesting profitable. We upcycle waste heat into electricity, by using environmentally friendly raw materials and scalable production methods. This is an enabling technology that is beneficial for multiple segments, such as district heating, buildings, maritime.
Throw No More AS
Norway
Throw No More digitises supermarkets’ discounted, soon-to-be-expired foods. Via Throw No More, app users can now pick their shopping destination based on the availability of offers at nearby stores. With products discounted up to 80%, this win-win solution helps consumers conveniently save money, while enabling retailers to reduce food waste and boost their bottom line.
Tracegrow Oy
Finland
Tracegrow Oy is Finland’s leading cleantech company. Tracegrow’s globally scalable technology converts industrial side streams and recycled alkaline batteries into valuable circular economy products with a very low CO2 footprint. Tracegrow technology can be upscaled to manufacture different end products and raw materials for agricultural and industrial usage. Today, Tracegrow’s foliar fertilizers are sold in 15 countries around the world.
Volare Solutions
Finland
Volare a science-based company that upcycles food industry side streams into high quality protein and lipids to replace soy, fish meal and palm oil. The company’s radically sustainable approach combines the natural superpowers of insects with cutting-edge technology to change how the food system operates.
Innovations coming to support the transition to a low carbon reality
Press release - TOP 25 companies of the 11th Nordic Cleantech Open
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