Establishing Montreal as a Global Climatetech Capital: Five Innovation Projects Take Home $300,000 at the First Climate Solutions Festival – Quebec

MONTREAL, May 25, 2023 /CNW/ – The Climate Solutions Festival—Quebec, which welcomed more than 800 participants and brought together leading innovators, investors, researchers, startups, clean tech entrepreneurs, and media culminated with the awarding of the Climate Solutions Prize Breakthrough Research Track Prize-Quebec, Start-Up Track Prize, Student Entrepreneur Innovation Prize, and Audience Choice Award.

The five winning projects were announced following a rigorous judging process which reviewed 200 submissions and were drawn from 25 finalists. A total of $300,000 in prizes were awarded to ideas with demonstrable potential for real-world impact when it comes to climate and which can be developed and put to use quickly.

Breakthrough Research Prize Winners:

Powered by JNF Canada, two winners shared a total purse worth $100,000. Winners were selected from submissions prepared by Quebec research institutions including universities, non-profit organizations such as hospitals and R&D centers, environmental charities, and non-profit incubators.

Projects were scored by an independent panel of judges based on criteria including impact, innovation, development potential, and cost-effectiveness.

First Prize: ($60,000

Name: Philip Raphals and Charles Kiyanda (NovoPower International) 

Project: Power from waste heat: bringing data centres and green hydrogen electrolyzers into the circular economy

Runner Up Prize: ($40,000

Name: Soodeh Abedini (Concordia University

Project: An affordable electrochemical system for simultaneous converting CO2 and CH4 to green storable energy

Quebec Start-Up Track Winner:

One winner of the $100,000 Start-Up prize, managed by Cycle Momentum, was selected from among ten finalists whose ideas all harnessed innovative approaches using Cleantech to tackle existing or emerging climate change issues.

Winner: ($100,000

Name: Jennifer Côté (Opalia) 

Project: Real milk producting without cows using innovative technology which reproduces the functionality, taste, and nutritional aspect of traditional dairy without the methane production and intensive animal use.

Quebec Student Entrepreneur Innovation Prize Winner:

In partnership with Mitacs, the $90,000 prize called on student entrepreneurs from across Quebec to use creativity and innovative thinking to build solutions to the climate crisis. The prize will be awarded in installments over two years to support the winner’s ongoing work on this theme.

Winner: ($90,000

Name: Yee Wei Foong (McGill University/Quantus) 

Project: Decarburizing batteries with metal-free electrodes for a sustainable alternative to lithium batteries

The Audience Choice Award:

This prize of $10,000 was granted to one winner who was selected by festival participants following  pitches by finalists from the Startup Track .

Winner: ($10,000

Name: Samson Bowen-Bronet (Altiro Energy) 

Project: Large-scale energy storage that introduces more renewables into the grid and eliminates power curtailment using an iron-based clean fuel.

Climate Solutions Festival

More than three-dozen panelists and keynote speakers offered over 800 festival attendees and participants thought-provoking insights and pathways to using technology to combat climate change, beginning at home. The two day event brought together hundreds of innovators, investors, academics, entrepreneurs and national and international thought leaders in a unique mash-up of ideas meant to spur greater activity and action in clean tech development.

“The success of this year’s festival – a first in Quebec and Canada – demonstrates the broad engagement that exists to address the climate crisis within the entrepreneurial, research, and startup communities,” said Galith Levy, Chief Climate Solutions Prize Officer. “Our organization looks forward to bringing these communities together again next year as we unite our talents and resources towards tackling the biggest issue of our times.”

Organizers of the festival are grateful for the support of partners who made the event possible, including JNF Canada, le Gouvernement du Québec, National Bank of Canada, Cycle Momentum, Esplanade Québec, 2 degrés, Mitacs, Innovobot, and many others. Special thanks goes to this year’s media partner La Presse.

“We strongly believe the first  Climate Solutions Festival in Quebec has been a catalyzing force to inspire innovative ideas that translate into workable solutions,” said Patrick Gagné, CEO of Cycle Momentum. “With the success of this gathering, we support the Climate Solutions Prize Organization and its ambition to establish Montreal as a global Climatetech capital.”

About the Climate Solutions Prize

Seeking to inspire breakthrough solutions to solve the climate crisis, over $2 million in prizes were awarded internationally in 2022. The inaugural  Climate Solutions Prize – Quebec  granted $300,000 in prizes and investments to Quebec innovators. More than just a prize, the organization aims to provide a platform where key players in the ecosystem are brought together to propel innovations with high impact potential.

SOURCE Climate Solutions Prize

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