Last month, Cleantech Challenge Mexico honored the competition’s eight finalists during its award ceremony held in Mexico City. The winner of the completion took away MX$250,000 in cash, while the eight finalists were eligible for up to US$30 million in venture capital investments.
The event took place in the city’s Historic Center in the Interactive Economy Museum (MIDE) with guest speakers including the US Ambassador to Mexico, Earl Anthony Wayne; Kai Bethke, Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Latin America; Andres Albo, Director of Social Responsibility at Banamex; and Dr. Luis Aguirre-Torres, President and CEO of GreenMomentum, primary organizers and sponsors of the Cleantech Challenge Mexico.
The winner of the completion took away MX$250,000 in cash, while the eight finalists were eligible for up to US $30 million in venture capital investments.
Here were the competitions winners in order:
1. Concreto Ecologico (Mexico City) – produces a porous concrete that recuperates rain waiter, allowing the soil beneath to absorb the water and filter into subterranean rivers.
2. EcoBiosis (State of Mexico) – processes liquid waste from alcohol distilleries that would otherwise be tossed in nearby lakes and rivers into purified water ready for reuse.
3. Decisiones Ambientales (Guadalajara) – develops a VOC-free cleaning solution for mechanical parts, a replacement to the industry’s standard cleaning solutions and degreasers that are typically 100% VOC.
4. ModuTram (Guadalajara) – designed a Lean Intelligent Networking Transportation system (LINT), a public transportation system made up of small, automated vehicles that run on tracks.
5. Ziggos (Guerrero) – also known as Frutas Exoticas, Ziggos has designed a dehydrating system based on solar energy for the production of dried mangos from the state of Guerrero.
6 .Industrias Polec (Mexico City) – produces bricks made from soil, water, and a special additive that doesn’t require electric energy for production. The brick is biodegradable and the additive is completely inert.
7. Leanmatics (Tlaxcala)- develops a solar powered oven for the production of food, but mainly tortillas.
8. Simbiotica (Mexico City) – they have a phytoremediation system that purifies water, soil and air naturally through avant-garde phytotechnologies.
This year, Cleantech Challenge Mexico has contributed to the creation of 800 green jobs, 60 new companies, 27 new industrial property requests, and the mitigation of over 7.5 million tons of CO2 over the next 5 years.