/ BFK: Previous competitions
The Sustainable Business Idea Competition has been running since 2015. The winners of both the 2016 and 2017 competitions were included in the Climate-KIC accelerator, one of the EU's flagship initiatives on climate-related innovation.
The 2020 competition
In 2020, New-Tech AS from Søgne took the win after an impressive final round during Environment Week on October 13.
Below is the jury's reasoning:
"The jury congratulates all the finalists in the Sustainable Business Idea Competition. Reaching the final is an achievement in itself considering the pile of proposals submitted.
The jury has based its decision on the following criteria:
- Business/market potential
- Potential for jobs or social impact
- Degree of innovation or level of technology
- Climate/environmental impact
- Ability/opportunity to realize the idea
- Quality of the pitch execution
The winner of the award will be offered a mentoring grant from Innovation Norway, participation in an optional event during 2021 for the purpose of competence building, networking and profiling. The prize covers travel, participation and accommodation. Lastly, the winner will be offered 3 months of free office space at either Coworx in Kristiansand or Torvgata 7 in Arendal. The jury has considered what needs the world is facing in a world facing a green shift, and the jury points in this context especially the need for food and the need for energy. The winning company has the highest score on the above-mentioned criteria, in addition to having a solution to a growing need that will be crucial for the world in the future. "
In 2019, the competition had a year of rest.
The 2018 competition
At the final event, eight participants pitched their green business ideas.
SCT Biotech from Arendal won with its idea to recycle liquid waste from the aquaculture industry into energy, fish feed and distilled water, among other things.
Second place went to Fly ash from waste incineration from Søgne. The Søgne entrepreneur is working on converting toxic waste into environmentally friendly building material to avoid landfill and uses the waste as a resource.
Third place went to ECO Trawl from Kristiansand, Norway. They are working on steerable trawl doors using computer technology to reduce fuel consumption, by-catch and bottom contact.
The 2017 competition
After the entry deadline of October 31, 20 entries were received and the jury selected 10 green ideas to proceed to the final on November 16.
The jury chose Simon Loginov as the winner of the green business idea competition in Agder. Simon Loginov is based in Arendal, and has developed a technology for environmentally friendly production of carbon materials + hydrogen.
- Our product, PyroBiocarbon - is a high-value carbon product with a crystalline structure that can be produced from only organic material as raw material. A thermal decomposition process in hydro-carbons releases hydrogen from carbon. We get rid of environmental enemies and are left with huge environmental savings, high-grade carbon, excess heat and hydrogen. Hydrogen can be further used as a clean and environmentally friendly energy source. Its production will not need external energy input. It will consume 10% of the hydrogen it produces for its own production needs. The rest (90%) can be sold, the winner said.
- In simple terms, we can say that we make small and very clean carbon pellets from, for example, plant residues and other biological material that can be used in a variety of industrial contexts, including the smelting industry and medicine. This has a major environmental benefit as it replaces the use of oil-based coke and coal, among other things. A by-product is hydrogen gas, which is also used in a number of industrial contexts to become more environmentally friendly," Loginov says.
- "We collaborate with the companies in the Eyde cluster in our research work, and carry out tests at Elkem and UiA," says a happy winner of the business idea competition, who was born in Russia and would like to contribute to technology development in Norway.
Second place went to the company FoamRox/TPD by Rolf Terje Jakobsen in Mandal. For many years, Jakobsen has been researching an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of concrete in tunnels, and has now developed materials that are both fireproof and insulating, which are now being tested at SINTEF in Trondheim. The replacement material is also lighter than concrete and is produced with less CO2 emissions. This is a product that can take off both nationally and internationally and become a green growth company.
Third place went to Norwegian Shores, Norwegian oysters, by Espen Bierud in Arendal. The company has already harvested and sold 2,300 Pacific oysters that "pollute" the seabed around the coast of southern Norway. The company has been contacted by the Ministry of Fisheries, and is in good production, harvesting Pacific oysters and distributing them for sale. The company is now working to create a larger market for its products in Norway, and hopes it will take off in the same way that king crabs have done in the north. At the same time, the company is solving an environmental problem and creating more jobs.
The 2016 competition
Five finalists were picked from the business ideas entered from across Agder. The finalists were UPC Tech, Sunsense, AlgeVita, Scanwatt and Maren Grobæk. Prior to the final, the candidates received pitch training and guidance. Each finalist was given 5 minutes for a presentation followed by 5 minutes of questions from the jury. They all did a great job presenting their idea. An educational trip to Estonia to watch the final of Europe's biggest green business idea competition awaited the three winners. The winner of the first prize then got to pitch in the final of the greenovation business idea competition in connection with Oslo Innovation Week on October 18, 2016.
The winner was UPC Tech from Kristiansand with a solution that enables environmentally friendly powder coating on wood.
- "Paint and spray paint are a major source of emissions of volatile organic compounds that are harmful to the climate and the environment. Here, UPC Tech has opportunities in a large global market, said project manager Øyvind Arnesen, who also believes that the other four winners are exciting projects that point to different climate/environmental/social challenges.
Second place went to Hege Salvesen from Arendal with her algae-based superfood.
Third place went to Knut Henriksen from Søgne, who is working to convert environmentally hazardous waste from nickel production into much-needed nickel pig iron
