18 EIT Community innovators and entrepreneurs on Forbes' 30 under 30 Europe list 2017!
EIT CommunityForbes has chosen 18 EIT Community members for their annual Forbes 30 under 30 list. The list features the best young innovators, entrepreneurs and game changers from Europe. The number of EIT Community members included on the Forbes 30 under 30 list has more than tripled since 2016.
[tweetable alt="The Forbes 30 under 30 list includes 18 innovators and entrepreneurs from the EIT Community" hashtag="#EITeu #innovation"]The Forbes 30 under 30 list includes 10 categories by industry. Innovators and entrepreneurs from the EIT Community[/tweetable] are now present in five of these categories: Industry, Social Entrepreneurs, Technology, Science and Healthcare, and Retail and E-commerce. They come from four of the EIT's innovation communities: EIT Digital, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT InnoEnergy and EIT Raw Materials.
The EIT is Europe’s largest innovation community. We provide entrepreneurs with a unique environment and opportunities for innovation, supporting the entire innovation process from idea to product, lab to market and from student to entrepreneur. [tweetable alt="The EIT’s expanding network powers innovators to make their best ideas a reality" hashtag="#EITeu #innovation #entrepreneurs"]The EIT’s ever-expanding network of business, education and research powers innovators to make their best ideas a reality[/tweetable].
Take a look at the list of the EIT Community innovators and entrepreneurs featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2017:
Image
Konux – EIT Digital
German start-up Konux offers smart sensor solutions to companies for the monitoring of industrial equipment. What sets them apart from other competitors is their provision of predictive maintenance solutions tailored to the specific needs of clients. Users of Konux's systems benefit from a decrease of up to 70% in machine breakdowns and a 30% reduction in maintenance costs. Konux became part of the EIT Community in 2014 after winning the EIT Digital Idea Challenge. In the spring of 2016, EIT Digital assisted Konux with a successful roadshow in Silicon Valley that brought in substantial investment. Konux now counts major businesses such as Deutsche Bahn among its clients.
Image
Florent Longa (Echy) – EIT Climate-KIC
Florent is a co-founder of Echy, an EIT Climate-KIC supported start-up from France that offers indoor lighting during the day by capturing natural light via solar panels and fiber optic cables. Echy’s technology has the potential to light 15 million square metres in Europe and could save 180 GWh of electricity generation annually – the equivalent of 82,800 tons of CO2.
Image
Matthias Melner (Lilium Aviation) – EIT Climate-KIC
Matthias is a co-founder of Lilium Aviation, who are designing the world’s fastest and highest-range electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft that is commercially available. Lilium will change the way in which we view transport and distance and has great environmental benefits as it will reduce pollution. Lilium joined the EIT Community in October 2014 after being accepted into the EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator programme.
Image
Christian Olsson (Sustainalube) – EIT RawMaterials
Christian is a co-founder of Sustainalube, which has developed a new type of industrial lubricant that is completely water soluble and oil-free. This has the potential to revolutionise the industry. Sustainalube was the winner of the EIT Raw Materials pitch event in Stockholm in February 2016.
Image
Unu Motors – EIT Digital
The co-founders of Unu Motors have designed an innovative electric scooter that can be charged virtually anywhere, even using a standard wall socket. Additionally, the scooters contain a lightweight portable battery that has a range of up to 100km and a top speed of 45km/h. Unu Motors was displayed at an EIT Digital tech innovation event in 2015.
Image
Yohei Kiguchi (Smap Energy) - EIT Climate-KIC
Kiguchi is the founder of the EIT Climate-KIC supported start-up SMAP Energy, the leading smart energy-switching company in the UK. SMAP Energy uses a novel algorithmic technique to help analyse user behaviour and derive insights that make the energy sector more efficient. SMAP Energy was accepted into the EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator programme in June 2016.
Image
Elena Dleckmann & Ryan Robinson (AEROPOWDER) – EIT Climate-KIC
AEROPOWDER is a project to utilise poultry feather waste to develop and manufacture a range of sustainable, low cost and high performance additive materials. Billions of chickens are slaughtered every year and AEROPOWDER is looking to re-purpose the feathers that are usually discarded by capitalising on properties such as water repellency and thermal insulation. AEROPOWDER joined EIT Climate-KIC in 2016.
Image
Lennart Budelmann & Pratap thapa (aQysta) – EIT Climate-KIC
With a vision to enhance food security in the world, aQysta have developed a hydro-powered irrigation system that can increase crop yield by 2 to 5 times. Their pump (called Barsha pump) works on an optimised spiral principle and is designed as a sustainable, low-maintenance, low-cost irrigation pump to enable rural communities in developing countries to increase crop yield. aQysta was named the most innovative cleantech start-up at the EIT Climate-KIC Venture Competition in 2014.
Image
Saverio Murgia & Luca Nardelli (Eyra) – EIT Digital
Eyra have developed an innovative, wearable device to assist blind and visually impaired people during the entire day. The device analyses its surroundings, obtains useful information through text reading, objects and people recognition, road signs, and zebra crossing detection; and audibly communicates them to the user. Eyra entered the EIT Community in 2014 after winning 3rd prize in the EIT Digital Idea Challenge.
Image
Julian Melchiorri (Arborea) – EIT Climate-KIC
Julian, the founder of EIT Climate-KIC-supported Arborea, has invented a bio-based system called a 'Biosolar Leaf' that mimics a real leaf by absorbing CO2 and releasing oxygen to purify the surrounding air. Arborea uses the system to empower energy self-producing, carbon-neutral buildings and waste treatment plants with a focus on climate change mitigation.
Image
Ferdinand Grapperhaus & Willem Kesteloo (PHYSEE) - EIT Climate-KIC
Grapperhaus and Kesteloo, the duo behind PHYSEE, have invented fully transparent windows that generate energy called PowerWindows. The windows are transparent double-paned windows that convert light into electricity and are helping make homes and businesses become more sustainable by tapping into energy already streaming into buildings and diminishing electricity costs. PHYSEE first entered the EIT Community in 2015 after being accepted into the EIT Climate-KIC accelerator programme.
Image
Tom Webster (GrowUp Urban Farms) – EIT Climate-KIC
Tom and his co-founders at GrowUp Urban Farms operate the largest vertical farm in the UK. Through a combination of aquaponics and innovative vertical growing technologies, GrowUp Urban Farms produce 20 000 pounds of fresh vegetables and 4 000 pounds of fish a year in their 2 000 square metre warehouse in Beckton, London. GrowUp are causing quite a stir in London, not only through their production of healthy food for local markets, but also through the positive environmental effects their farm offers. GrowUp Urban Farms entered the EIT community in 2013 and were a finalist of the EIT Climate-KIC Venture competition in 2014.
Image
Sandra Rey (Glowee) – EIT InnoEnergy
Sandra founded the EIT InnoEnergy-supported start-up Glowee in 2014 and has since been supported by the EIT InnoEnergy Highway. Glowee is developing a biological source of light using the bioluminescent properties of marine micro-organisms. By enabling bacteria to make light, Glowee have provided a living raw material which creates light entirely self-sufficiently. Sandra was also previously included in the MIT Technology review's list of Innovators under 35 in France.
Image
Alex Bond (Fresh Check) – EIT Climate-KIC
Alex is the co-founder of Fresh Check, who have created a simple colour change system for food packaging that can alert the customer when food has spoiled. This will help to prevent food-borne illnesses and curb the 1.3 billion tons of food that is thrown out each year. Fresh Check received support from the EIT Climate-KIC greenhouse in 2015.
Image
Florence Gschwend (Chrysalis Technologies) – EIT Climate-KIC
Florence is the co-founder of Chrysalis Technologies, who have developed an efficient and low-cost process to convert metal-contaminated waste wood into several usable products including bio-gas, bio-ethanol and other bio-based materials. Chrysalis entered the EIT Community after winning 3rd prize at the Climate Launchpad competition in 2016
Image
Allen & Max Mohammadi (Hippogriff AB) – EIT InnoEnergy
After the loss of their grandmother, brothers Allen and Max Mohammadi, founders of EIT InnoEnergy supported Hippogriff AB, developed technology for the early detection of heart problems.. Their Artificial Intelligence-based design uses a combination of demographic and patient medical data to allow early screening of heart disease. Allen Mohammadi is an alumni of EIT InnoEnergy and was the winner of the EIT Change award in 2016.
Image
Freddy Macnamara (Cuvva) – EIT Digital
Freddy is the founder of EIT Digital-supported Cuvva, who offer a new type of car insurance. People who borrow a car from friends or family can use their app to buy short-term car insurance. This provides users with a number of benefits such as the ability to car share to reduce your carbon footprint or even to stamp out drink driving. Their system also offers a vast reduction in costs for users due to its adaptability. Cuvva were awarded 3rd prize in the EIT Digital Challenge for Digital Finance in 2016.
Image
Martin McGloin & Sabine Pole (Sorry as a Service) – EIT Digital
Martin and Sabine are the co-founders of ‘Sorry as a Service’, a customer retention platform from Estonia. Sorry as a Service strive to make our ‘digital and impersonalised’ world friendlier by helping companies make their customers feel special. Their customer support agents can dispatch physical apologies, such as a freshly baked cake from a local baker or a personalised gift set. Sorry as a Service entered the EIT Community in 2015 after winning 2nd prize in the EIT Digital Idea challenge for smart spaces in 2015.
Catch up with the latest news from the EIT Community in the Newsroom.
Subscribe to the EIT Newsletter to get the best of the EIT Community's news in your inbox once each month.
Engage with us
Share this page
