The New Energy Challenge
The New Energy Challenge is an open innovation competition for start-ups and scale-ups from Europe and Israel that are developing emerging technologies and digital solutions to increase energy-efficiency, remove carbon from the atmosphere and achieve carbon-neutrality.
Jointly organized by Rockstart, Shell, Unknown Group and YES!Delft, the competition is bringing together cutting-edge innovators from Europe and Israel to make energy systems not just carbon-neutral but also “carbon-useful” – and at scale.
The winning companies will be given the opportunity to connect with investors and experts, unlocking the knowledge, contacts, funding, and support needed to scale their business and help them to drive change in the energy system.
Who can participate?
In this year’s seventh edition, the NEC searches for start-ups and scale-ups that are developing emerging technologies and digital solutions in the fields of energy-efficiency and carbon capture, storage, and utilisation. We are searching for start-ups and scale-ups that are developing emerging technologies and digital solutions to increase energy-efficiency, remove carbon from the atmosphere and achieve carbon-neutrality.
From nature-based solutions (NBS) to carbon capture technologies, to digitalising the grid, finding clever ways to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is essential to limiting global warming by 2100, as decreed by the Paris Agreement. This is especially true for heavy-emitting industries, which need to both reduce carbon emissions and capture carbon to meet climate targets.
The New Energy Challenge aims to help innovative entrepreneurs and scientists to get their solutions to market and bring our societies closer to carbon neutrality – and to being more carbon-useful.
But capturing society’s carbon output isn’t just about going carbon-neutral – it’s also about going “carbon-useful”: recycling the carbon we produce into useful materials. From the cement we use to build our houses to the plant-based burgers we eat for dinner, recycled carbon could form the building blocks of many of our everyday necessities.
Carbon capture, storage and utilisation are often considered too costly and inefficient to be used at scale, but scientific and technological innovations are rapidly changing this. By working together to develop and scale affordable and efficient carbon reduction, capture, and utilisation technologies, we can help all industries to meet their climate targets, create more circular economies and keep the planet’s warming within safe limits.
This year’s NEC aims to help innovative entrepreneurs and scientists to get their solutions to market and bring our societies closer to carbon neutrality– and more carbon-useful.
Finals
Throughout October, an extensive network of experts coached the finalists to validate their business proposal and prepare them to pitch in front of an expert jury on Finals Day. The winners of the New Energy Challenge 2022 edition were announced early November.
