Five green start-ups from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Vietnam will compete in the finale of the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, an annual worldwide competition for green start-ups.
One of these entrepreneurs will win €500,000 to realise his or her sustainable business plan. Another €200,000 will go to one or two runners-up. On Thursday, 11th September finalists Diego Acevedo, Devin Malone, Arthur Kay, Pierre-Yves Cousteau and Trang Tran will present their ideas in Amsterdam before a jury led by Ellen MacArthur, British ex solo sailor and founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Diego Acevedo is the co-founder of Bluerise, which develops a technology that uses temperature differences in the oceans to generate electricity and cooling. Bluerise enables tropical islands and coastal regions to become 100% energy independent and save up to 90% on cooling related electricity use.
Pierre-Yves Cousteau is the co-founder of Turbosail™, a company that develops an efficient wind propulsion technology for seagoing vessel operators, which is proven to deliver a 30% average reduction in fuel consumption as prototype. The Turbosail functions like an airplane wing; creating an aerodynamic power which lifts the vessel and pushes it forward.
For the eight year, the Dutch Postcode Lottery issued a worldwide call for inventions that reduce carbon emissions. The international competition aims to help green start-ups bring their innovative, sustainable products and services to market. This year, the jury received 324 sustainable business plans from 57 different countries.
The jury will award the €500,000 grand prize – intended to help the winner get his or her product to market within two years – at the finale, taking place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A runner-up prize of €200,000 is available for one or two other promising finalists.