The use of agro-food waste as construction material was awarded in ClimateLaunchpad eco-ideas competition
- Valencia hosted the Spanish final of ClimateLaunchpad, the largest cleantech ideas competition to fight climate change.
- Peter Vesterbackaa, one of the founders of Angry Birds, opened the event giving the keys on entrepreneurship success.
Recover waste from the food industry such as wine, olive oil or coffee to turn them into building materials is the proposal of Matter, the winning team of the competition.
ClimateLaunchpad is one of the Climate-KIC initiatives , coordinated in Spain by Avaesen and INNDEA where entrepreneurs are invited to present their business ideas to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. For three months, a team of coaches helps candidates to improve their proposals to reach the market.
In the final held yesterday in Valencia, the eight participating teams had the opportunity to present and compete in front of a large audience and a jury of entrepreneurs, investors, management and representatives of Climate-KIC Spain.
The event kicked off with inspiring talk by Peter Vesterbackaa, who shared his experience in Rovio, makers of Angry Birds. “The key of success is based on the three “E” s: Education, Entertainment and Entrepreneurship”, he said.
The jury awarded first prize to the Matter proposal with the reuse of agrifood waste in the building sector. The second prize went to Energy Dreams and its original idea of generating energy from the impact of walking and dancing in big festivals, concerts and areas with large numbers of attendees, covering the ground with a pavement can transform this kind of impact into energy.
The third prize went to Urbanmet, with its GIS application that integrates data collected in a city for sustainable decision-making by the local administration.
The three finalists will represent Spain in the European final to be held on 7 and 8 October in Tallinn (Estonia). In addition, the audience voted a special award, which went to the team Water Diverter, whose proposal is based on the use of the cold shower water is wasted as it leaves the hot water, million liters per year only in Spain.
ClimateLaunchpad was sponsored by Banco Sabadell BStartup, Olleros Abogados, IDEAS Institute, MI-MA-ZU, Finnova, County Council of Valencia and Start-up Europe Awards.
The ClimateLaunchpad program is coordinated in Spain by Climate-KIC partners, Avaesen and InnDEAValència. Climate-KIC is the largest public-private European initiative on climate change that drives innovation to boost European competitiveness, increase economic growth and job creation through the creation of new products and services that address climate change. Climate-KIC is supported by the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology), a body of the European Union.