The Future of ClimateTech: Amazon’s Start-Up Programme

Amazon is on a mission to seek out and support the best up and coming businesses driving sustainability innovation. 

Back for its third year, The Amazon Sustainability Accelerator is a four-week programme designed for start-ups across Europe. In 2022, the focus was on consumer products and in 2023 a second cohort – recycling tech – joined the initiative. 

In 2024, a new initiative is being trialled alongside the consumer products cohort – The ClimateTech Pilot Challenge.

“We love finding the ways major companies can work with leading start-ups creating the future,” says Ezra Konvitz, Director & Head of Accelerators, Founders Intelligence. 

“The incredible start-ups and technologies that are part of the Pilot Challenge cohort give cause for hope – if we can help them find the best ways to work with Amazon’s scale we’ll achieve a game-changing impact.”

Start-ups chosen from the hundreds of applications can expect to engage with Amazon’s Sustainability, Climate Pledge Fund and Climate Pledge Friendly teams, attend workshops, receive mentorship and £10,000 worth of AWS Activate Credits.

This year’s expanded Amazon Sustainability Accelerator is a partnership with EIT Climate-KIC, Europe’s leading climate innovation agency, and innovation strategy consultants Founders Intelligence, part of Accenture.

The ClimateTech Pilot Challenge

The 15 selected start-ups engaging in the new climate technology specific start-up programme will gain access to expert-led workshops, specialised mentorship, a tailored curriculum and access to a network of entrepreneurs in the sustainability sector.

New to the programme is also the opportunity to pitch to Amazon themselves, with the goal to trial in Amazon’s European operations. Three of the start-ups will be selected for the additional programme with the intention to launch, with potential investment of between £50,000 to £2m (US$63,560 to US$2.5m).

“I’m so excited to welcome 15 ambitious start-ups to join the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator this year, including our first ever Climate Tech Pilot,” said Zak Watts, Amazon’s International Director of Sustainability.

“The scope of businesses involved means we can support even more entrepreneurs to reach their potential. Not to mention the one-of-a-kind opportunity to test their technology directly with parts of Amazon’s business. It is our mission for the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator to be the best programme of its kind in the world for entrepreneurs to pioneer and scale cutting-edge sustainable solutions.”

The 15 start-ups selected for the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator Climate Tech Pilot Challenge are:

Circular Economy – for start-ups creating solutions that extend the lifetime of products:

• ACS Clothing: Europe’s largest circular fulfilment fashion hub for brands and retailers and winners of the Kings Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development (2023)

• Breathe Batteries: Specialists at increasing electric vehicle and consumer electronics battery charging speed and life expectancy. Volvo Cars recently invested in Breathe and will use its battery software to cut charging time for its next generation of electric vehicles by 30%
• Spareka: All-in-one home repair specialists, Spareka sources spare parts for home appliances, ships these to the customer’s door and has on-demand specialists to video call the customer and walk them through the repair process
• Circu Li-Ion: Circu L-Ion brings urban mining to life through an automated upcycling platform for end-of-life batteries. With multiple investment partnerships secured, Circu Li-Ion will facilitate a circular battery value chain in Europe ahead of the electric vehicle market’s expected surge to be worth US1tn by 2030
• Twaice: Twaice has launched tools that analyse and forecast the lifecycle, faults and safety risks of battery systems, with customers including Audi and Daimler (Mercedes-Benz)

Energy in Buildings – for start-ups helping buildings decarbonise through cutting-edge technology and materials:

• Cheesecake Energy: Pioneering green energy storage technology, turning renewable sources such as solar and wind farms into reliable and longer-lasting on-demand power. In 2023, Cheesecake Energy received £9.4m (US$12m) in funding to install a microgrid in Colchester to help with local grid limitations
• Phaidra: Phaidra has developed an AI virtual operator for a variety of industrial building applications, such as in power plants, data centres, pharmaceutical labs and steel mills. The technology can dynamically optimise local control systems, such as stabilising temperatures, pressures and flow rates and reducing total energy consumption
• Unbound Potential: Unbound Potential has developed new battery technology for long duration energy storage, paving the way for batteries that offer a more efficient, affordable and sustainable way to store renewable energy for longer periods of time
• Raicoon: Raicoon offers AI-powered software that detects errors and automates operations for solar farms to optimise and reduce energy waste. This solution can increase the power output of existing systems by 6% while reducing operational expenditure by 30-50%
• HT Materials Science: Engineering innovative and smart heat transfer fluids for existing commercial and industrial heating and cooling systems that save costs and demonstrably reduce energy consumption

Packaging – for start-ups developing innovative packaging materials:

• Hipli: Packaging provider for e-commerce businesses whereby empty bags can be sent back to businesses for cleaning and reuse after delivery. Hipli have signed contracts with more than 220 French and European e-commerce companies including Belgium’s leading postal operator Bpost
• RePack: RePack enable retailers to ship products in bags that can be returned to any postbox anywhere in the world, having worked with a number of consumer brands and e-commerce portals including Royal Canin, Zalando and Otto
• Re-Zip: Reusable packaging that rewards customers for returning, often in the form of a voucher for the webshop which they have ordered from
• Opopop: Reusable and returnable packaging company that uses surplus waterproof materials from the textile industry (solid, washable and repairable) to build long-lasting products
• KIUD: KIUD have developed a durable packaging solution made from 100% textile fibres that can be re-used and recycled via conventional textile waste streams. Compared to cardboard, KIUD’s packaging reduces water consumption by 60%, CO2 by 46% and land use by 68%.

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