Amazon announces its 2025 Climate Cohort for the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, including water extraction, waste management and flow batteries
Nine out of ten CEOs say that inadequate technology is the reason for issues surrounding building business resilience, according to a study headed by Accenture.
The World Economic Forum says that innovative solutions from start up companies are the answer to optimising the life cycle of materials and creating supply chains that promote sustainability and reduce waste.
Amazon has selected companies to join its 2025 Climate Tech cohort of the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, with the aim to support product development of sustainable solutions.
What is Amazon’s Climate Tech cohort?
Amazon has selected 11 companies out of 550 applicants to join the climate tech cohort and have the chance to pilot technologies across Amazon’s Europe operations.
The cohort started out in 2022 and has now been expanded to include climate tech companies that are creating products to tackle climate change.
Amazon will provide the selected companies with four weeks of experience led workshops, mentoring and leadership panels.
Those selected addressed environmental challenges such as energy efficiency, waste reduction and water management.
“What stands out about this cohort is their combination of technological innovation and practical applicability,” says Olivier Pellegrini, European Director of Sustainability and Packaging Operations at Amazon.
“These founders are developing technologies that have real potential for implementation within our operations and could be truly transformative at scale.
“Their approach connects well with Amazon’s own culture of innovation and sustainability goals.”
What does Amazon hope to achieve through the programme?
Amazon says that through the project it wants to enable entrepreneurs to launch sustainable products, services and technologies.
By providing small businesses with the multinational company’s expertise it hopes to accelerate the roll out and uptake of technology for a more sustainable future.
The company is working with industry experts such as EIT Climate-KIC, Founders Intelligence and Growth Studio.
Through the programme Amazon aims to connect start up businesses with leading innovators at events like Mentor Day and Demo Day.
In 2024 Amazon invested £650,000 (US$881,000) into five pilots from the cohort.
“We’re excited to continue our collaboration with Amazon’s Sustainability Accelerator for the 2025 Climate Tech Challenge,” says Livia Solustri, Strategy Lead at Founders Intelligence.
“Last year’s programme demonstrated the impact of connecting innovative start-ups and scale-ups with Amazon’s operational expertise.
“We’re proud to play a role in identifying and supporting companies that can drive meaningful environmental change while delivering operational efficiency at scale.”
More about the companies selected
Amazon has picked out 11 companies from its hundreds of applicants in a bid to expand the innovations and create more sustainable solutions, some of the companies picked out include:
Vuala – Vuala has invented an artificial stomach that liquify’s and separates food waste from other waste.
The technology is made from a bio-chemical system integrated with specialised micro-organisms and bacteria, that digests the food.
This invention aims to make recycling easier, separating food from containers and storing food waste for months without odor.
Abiel Ma, Vuala’s CEO and Co-Founder, said: “Traditional food waste management relies on hauling waste to centralised treatment, often has problems of odours, pests, contamination, poor recycling, and little data for improvement.
“Our data-driven ‘artificial stomach’ automatically separates food waste at source, converting it into raw material for renewable energy while driving frontline behaviour change and incentivising organisations to power a circular economy.”
Solaq – Solaq has invested in technology to address the growing concern of water scarcity around the world.
The innovation works by extracting water from the air, providing sustainable, reliable, safe and affordable access to drinking water.
It will be powered using solar and will not be reliant on the grid, aiming to have 24/7 production.
Omniflow – Omniflow is aiming to power cities using solar and wind power.
Although providing several sustainable solutions Amazon has picked out it’s streetlight innovation that uses 90% less energy compared to conventional street lights.
The technology includes air quality monitoring, EV charging, 5g connectivity and works through motion sensors, dimming if no activity is detected.
Mhor Energy – Mhor energy has developed a flow battery that stores energy in liquid form.
The innovation doesn’t use corrosive electrolytes so can be deployed into highly populated areas, offering a 25 year life span.
The battery is also manufactured to withstand heat than regular batteries, allowing more power more consistently.
Jamie Lindsay, CEO and Founder of Mhor Energy says: “Our journey began with a simple frustration over the lack of innovation in heating systems.
“This led us to develop a system that uses environmentally friendly liquids to store electricity.
“By creating a heat-resistant, non-flammable solution, we’re helping industries transition to renewable energy while significantly reducing their operational costs and environmental impact.”
Source: https://sustainabilitymag.com/
