£100,000 to be shared across 9 low carbon start-ups.
£100,000 of initial investment cash is being shared across nine start-ups on Innovation Birmingham’s Low Carbon Accelerator programme, which is part of the European-funded Climate-KIC initiative.
A total of 16 low carbon start-ups pitched for the investment funding, in front of a panel of three industry judges. The process was facilitated by Innovation Birmingham’s Climate-KIC team and two of the Entrepreneurs in Residence.
The grant funding – circa £11,000 for each of the nine start-ups – will be used to pay for research and development, and other activity to enable the low carbon products and services to be launched to market in an accelerated timescale.
The three judges awarding the finance were: Paul Adams, an entrepreneur and environmental specialist, appointed by the University of Birmingham as a BSEEN Programme Adviser; Ian French, investment director at Finance Birmingham; and Glenn Barrowman, a Project Manager at Built Environment Climate Change Innovations.
Katharine Fuller, Innovation Birmingham’s Senior Project Manager for EU Projects said: “Early stage grant funding makes such a difference to start-up businesses. The timetable required for an entrepreneur to launch their product or service to market is critical, and the funding available through the European Climate-KIC initiative enables the best businesses starting up in the low carbon sector to receive a helpful grant.
“In addition to this grant funding, all of the businesses will continue to work alongside the three Entrepreneurs in Residence who have been specifically appointed as advisers to the Low Carbon Accelerator programme. The ultimate aim is to help to launch as many sustainable start-ups as possible.”
The nine low carbon start-ups being awarded grant funding are: Full Grown, which is working to change wasteful mass production processes; 5L, a water and energy efficiency business; Unicorn Power Ltd, specialising in clean energy and environmental mitigation; Libralato, a hybrid powertrain specialist; Alkali Solutions, which specialises in industrial symbiosis; WRK Design & Services Ltd, an alternative energy provider; Petalite Battery, which reduces carbon in manufacturing and the product lifecycle; Greengineering Ltd, which specialises in resource and built environment efficiency; and Civico Online Exchange Tracker, a waste prevention solution.
The culmination of the Low Carbon Accelerator programme will see a total of 12 start-ups from across nine Climate-KIC regions in Europe selected to visit Silicon Valley in California during November’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. Three of the chosen start-ups are from the Innovation Birmingham cohort, illustrating the quality of the companies.
