EIT Climate-KIC Switzerland to accelerate 11 solutions to counter climate change

In the past nine years, start-ups supported by the EIT Climate-KIC, the world largest climate-focused accelerator program, have managed to raise external investment to over €1 billion. An increasing number of startups are also on the verge of writing the same success as they tackle climate issues as seen by the growing number of startups entering the EIT Climate-KIC program in every batch. The 2019 winter batch comprises 11 startups of which five have joined the first stage; two have graduated to the second stage and four to the third and final stage. Many different sectors are represented among the recently selected cohort.

The EIT Climate-KIC Switzerland Winter Batch 2019 comprises the following startups

Stage 1:

DePoly – The startup developed a novel solution allowing the chemical recycling of PET plastic as an alternative to just crushing it. DePoly aims to close the loop in PET recycling reducing the energy required to produce new plastic by 66%.

Libattion – Providing sustainable and smarter lithium batteries. 

Planted - The ETH Zurich spin-off creates meat substitutes with pea protein, pea fiber, sunflower oil and water. The products stand out with its texture, which makes them almost indistinguishable from chicken.

SmartHelio – IoT and data analytics for better financial return for solar companies

UniSieve – developed the next-generation separation membrane technology, which allows for cost and energy-efficient separation of gases. The technology is based on an inventive way of integrating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) into polymeric membranes.

Startups that have graduated to the next stages are 

Stage 2: Bloom Biorenewables, which is making biomass a true alternative to petroleum and Neustark, which is dedicated to turning CO2 into construction materials.

Stage 3: AgroSustain with its natural solution for crop protection; FenX,  developing sustainable and fire-resistant insulation materials made from waste; Gaia Membranes, developing next-generation ion-exchange membranes for energy storage & hydrogen and Hades, which uses artificial intelligence to improve urban drainage systems.

The three-stage accelerator program enables climate entrepreneurs to accelerate their development and scale their businesses. Until March 2020, the startups will benefit from equity-free grants of up to CHF 100k in addition to coaching and training.