The CleanTech Challenge partners with EcoMachines to support startups in Green Technology

LONDON - Feb. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- EcoMachines Incubator is partnering with the CleanTech Challenge to provide more opportunities for the 2014 competition finalists to grow their startups.

Running since 2009, the CleanTech Challenge is a global business plan competition for innovative clean technology business ideas. Organised by postgraduates at London Business School and University College London, it brings together business and engineering students from universities across the world to create viable startups. Teams are mentored by experts and compete over three rounds for the £10,000 prize, awarded at the two-day Bootcamp finals in London.

EcoMachines is supporting the competition by contributing mentors from its network, running a networking event, and providing judges for the competition panel. In addition, finalists of the Cleantech Challenge will be fast-tracked through EcoMachines' investment evaluation process.

Ingrid Marchal-Gerez, co-chair of the CleanTech Challenge, said, “The CleanTech Challenge are delighted to announce our partnership with EcoMachines Incubator. The CleanTech Challenge aims to help students develop their cleantech business ideas from inception to being viable businesses, and EcoMachines Incubator Accelerator Programme is the next logical step for many of the businesses we support.”

Ilian Iliev, CEO of EcoMachines Incubator, said, “Clean technology is tackling some of the biggest problems that society faces around sustainability, energy efficiency and climate change. CleanTech Challenge helps foster the next generation of innovators who are developing those solutions. We hope EcoMachines' ecosystem and resources focused on advanced engineering and high-value manufacturing can help accelerate the ventures participating in the Cleantech Challenge competition.”

The CleanTech Challenge Bootcamp finals will be held from 23^rd to 25^th April.

About EcoMachines Incubator:

EcoMachines Incubator is a seed investment fund for companies working in high-value manufacturing and advanced engineering. It focuses on the areas of energy, cleantech, transportation, industrial high-tech and sustainable cities.

EcoMachines makes its seed investments through its accelerator programme, which includes up to £100k in equity funding, mentorship, industry partnerships and business strategy development. It also supports later-stage companies by investing up to £500k, and raising further funds from outside investors.

To learn more about EcoMachines Incubator and its Accelerator programme, please visit our website.

Contact details:

EcoMachines Incubator Ltd.

Rainmaking Loft, International House, 1 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1UN

(t) +44 207  1939 041

(e) media@ecomachinesincubator.com (mailto:ilian.iliev@ecomachinesincubator.com)

(w) www.ecomachinesincubator.com

About the CleanTech Challenge:

The Challenge was founded in 2009 by Tim Barnes, the director of UCL Advances & Prof. Jeff Skinner, director of the Deloitte Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at LBS. Their aim was to “create a new forum in which students with promising early stage ideas would be challenged to work them up into viable ventures”.

2009 winners Greenlease evolved into successful energy reduction investment business Decarbon Capital. Dan Saunders, the founder and director of Decarbon Capital said “it’s a really safe environment to test your business model and your ideas. The mentors and judges have terrific experience”. Past finalists have included ideas from turning windows into solar panels to cleaning arsenic from drinking water and from recovering waste heat from HGV engines to bacteria pumping biofuels.

Entries for the 2014 competition closed on 26^th January, and the results of the first round will be announced shortly.

Contact details:

(e) info@cleantechnologychallenge.com

(w) www.cleantechnologychallenge.com