UK Climate-KIC Venture winners to proceed to Valencia finals

The winners of the UK rounds in Climate-KICs Venture Competition have been announced in London.

‘GrowUp’ and ‘Reduse’ were selected as the two best UK climate start-ups of 2014 and will proceed to the next stage of competition. Each will receive €20,000 and take part in TV opportunities with Bloomberg.

GrowUp produces high-quality salads, herbs, microgreens and fish on sustainable farms close to consumers. GrowUp uses a combination of aquaponic and vertical growing technologies to maximise the sustainable yield from the constraints of urban space. Reduse removes print from paper using lasers, allowing the reuse of office paper before it gets recycled.

The awards ceremony took place at the Royal College of Music, and nine start-ups eyed the two UK-round prizes. A judging panel of four industry and academic experts assessed the contenders.

Andrew Burford, Climate-KIC UK’s entrepreneurship lead, commented: “The Climate-KIC Venture Competition is a celebration of some of the brightest entrepreneurial talent in the UK in the area of climate change – people who are addressing our future climate challenges whilst contributing to the economic prosperity of Europe. The winners, GrowUp and Reduse, are dynamic members of our ecosystem and represent the climate innovation that is key to tackling this global problem.”

Both start-ups will take part in the European finals of Climate-KIC’s Venture Competition, which will take place at the Innovation Festival in Valencia, Spain, in October. A final prize of €40,000 is available.