ClimateLaunchpad Swiss Final 2026: Three Swiss Startups Advance to the Regional Final
On Friday, August 14, at 5:00 PM, the ClimateLaunchpad Swiss Final 2026 kicked off at Literaturhaus Basel, bringing together climate innovators, entrepreneurs, and supporters. Nine finalists took the stage to pitch their ideas and compete for a spot in the Regional Final. Spirits were high as guests and participants enjoyed the pleasantly cool venue, with ice cream on hand for a refreshing start while outside temperatures peaked at 37°C.
The evening opened with a welcome from moderator Catherine Riesen, followed by an inspiring keynote from Elianne Hutet, titled “The Idea Is Not the Hard Part: From Idea to Impact.” Drawing on her experience across different companies and sectors, Elianne shared practical insights on what it takes to move from an initial idea to meaningful impact.
The pitches followed, with each team given five minutes to present its business idea, implementation, financial roadmap, team, and founders’ dream. The jury, consisting of Dimitrios Terzis, Lara Sutter, and Margarita Kim, then had three minutes to ask questions and dig deeper into each startup and its potential for success.
The nine pitches showcased an impressive range of concepts, from sustainable packaging claims and the reuse of exhibition materials to carbon-negative construction materials, AI-powered renewable energy management, and innovative ways of recovering valuable resources from waste. Each idea stood out not only for its originality but also for how far the teams had already come in bringing their concepts to life.
After the final pitch, the jury began its deliberations while the teams and audience had the opportunity to connect and mingle over an apéro. Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for: the announcement of the three winners.
WindLens took first place! Sebastien Behaghel and Matteo Peduto impressed the jury with their AI-driven insights that help wind and solar energy producers make smarter decisions in volatile power markets, reduce risk, and optimize the value of renewable energy assets.
Roberto Valenza, Maxime Albisetti, and Charlélie Brun took second place. The jury was thoroughly impressed by their approach to producing carbon-negative construction materials and green hydrogen through an innovative process that valorizes organic waste compounds.
Third place went to ResolV, the startup transforming hazardous solvent waste into recovered value. Founder Mayukh Das helps pharmaceutical and chemical companies recover reusable material streams instead of sending them to incineration.
The three winning startups will now advance to the online Regional Final. With less than a month to refine their pitches, they will compete against promising climate innovators from across Europe for a place in the Global Final in Singapore.
The evening concluded with an apéro at Café Kafka, where participants, finalists, jury members, and guests continued the conversations over fresh Flammkuchen and drinks, providing the perfect setting to wind down the evening together.
Learn more about each of the contestants in our Ideas with Impact Stories: https://startup-academy.ch/stories/
About ClimateLaunchpad
ClimateLaunchpad is the world’s largest green business ideas competition, part of EIT Climate-KIC, Europe’s climate innovation agency. It helps entrepreneurs turn climate-positive ideas into successful businesses through training, mentoring, and global networking, with the goal of accelerating solutions for a sustainable future.
The event is supported by global sponsors Bank of America and Irish Aid. Local Startup Academy partner Basler Kantonalbank further supports the initiative at a local level through its continued backing of the Startup Academy mission.
