Founded in 2021, Climatize is a climate fintech mobile app that enables individuals and organisations to invest in profitable climate projects that support underrepresented communities – starting from as little as $5! The team’s goal to fight for climate justice, social justice, and financial inclusion is now being realised with the U.S. launch of their app in December (those of you in Europe can get on the VIP waitlist here), which already supports low-income families in going solar. They will launch their investment product in Q1 2023 to continue their vision to become the people’s financial network for climate action. The company started as a university project at ESADE during the InnoEnergy MSc RENE programme, which Alba Forns says “Gave us the necessary renewable energy background, entrepreneurship foundation, and invaluable industry connections needed to start our own company so that we can do something that we believe in for work!”

PLAEX has created automatic waste sorting bins that take the mystery out of recycling. Perfecting their bins from the first 2020 prototype and their service during several pilot programmes, they are ready to hit the commercial market! They’ve secured critical funding and are looking for co-sponsors for their seed round – as they close deals with their first two major clients. Former MSc Smart Cities student Tyrell Pantophlet shares, “This year, we will work with our first customers to improve their sustainability and look forward to making an impact in other organisations, recycling in general, and ultimately reducing CO2 emissions from landfills. It’s an exciting time, and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship journeys during my studies were instrumental in teaching me how to pitch and network – and gave me all the entrepreneurial skills I still use daily.”

Tether turns electric vehicles into energy storage, so owners can fight climate change and get rewarded for it! It started as a project during their time in the MSc RENE programme, where they were tasked to come up with an idea for a start-up in the energy sector – and then taught how to build it. Alumni Martim Perestrelo and Luis Medina Rivas continued to work on Tether (then called Luma) after graduation and won the 2021 EIT Jumpstarter accelerator competition. Since then, they’ve built an expert advisory board, developed their software, finished their first MVP, and closed deals with an EV charging and energy storage company. Martim explains, “Participating in conferences, competitions, and podcasts have generated much attention to raise funding. And InnoEnergy has helped us in many ways by introducing us to the right people, giving us good advice, expanding our network, and spreading the word within the InnoEnergy community.”

Green Marine aims to reduce CO2 emissions and spearhead the green transition in the marine industry through solar units installed on cargo containers.​ MSc SENSE alumnus Haoming Wang shares his inspiration, “The idea came during business summer school when landing in Barcelona, I saw the beautiful coast ruined by the black smoke from the harbour. In 2021, I teamed up with other students for the Battle of Green Talent competition, and although we didn’t win, our business knowledge encouraged us to pursue our project. Since then, we’ve participated in several competitions, including the EDPR Challenge 2022 and EIT Jumpstarter 2022, where we won first place! This gave us enough award money to register our company. The programme has given me a well-rounded understanding of entrepreneurship. Before joining the EIT InnoEnergy program, like many other Chinese students, I had limited exposure to and consideration of entrepreneurship or start-ups. However, their support and guidance inspired me to think outside the box and go for it!”

reLi provides software for energy storage solutions to increase profitability, reduce emissions, and extend their lifetime. Former MSc SENSE student Laura Laringe shares, “We began during our studies at the ESADE summer school, where we thought of a solution to address EV battery waste by refurbishing and enabling their use as second-life batteries. The lifespan was too short, so we shifted into developing software to fix this.” In 2022-2023, reLi received around €200K in grant prizes and installed its prototype and paid pilot project successfully – and looks forward to expanding their team and developing a final product by the end of the year. Laura adds, “EIT InnoEnergy provided me with a well-rounded education, including essential business knowledge that I wouldn’t have obtained in a traditional degree program. This combination of technical expertise and business has equipped me with what I needed to start my own company.”

 

These success stories show what young entrepreneurs can achieve when they take a solid idea, put in the hard work, and have a supportive innovation ecosystem behind them. InnoEnergy provides students access to Europe’s largest, most dynamic, and diverse energy community that already supports 500+ startups, about 50 of them alumni created! So, where will your ideas and EIT InnoEnergy’s support take YOU? Explore our master’s programmes here.

Photo credit: Oscar Damanik 2 – Wind turbines in an industry area in Antwerp