2021 WMF Start Up & Scale Up Challenges: Prof. Victoire de Margerie announces the Awards

Prof. Victoire de Margerie, Jury Chairman states : « Once more our Start Up Awards went legitimately to Start Ups that have a potential high impact on the WMF objective of decoupling economic growth and the use of our natural resources: our Grand Prix to NITRICITY (low cost fertilizer at the point of use while using only air, water and renewable electricity) and our Coup de Coeur to ETS (zero carbon energy storage for production of bulk materials). And for the 1st time, our Scale Up Awards went to two of our nominees of the 1st Start Up Challenge (in 2017) that have impressed the Jury by the fast and solid routes they have chosen towards Scale Up: our Grand Prix to CARBIOS (enzymatic process to provide transparent food grade recycled PET) and our Coup de Coeur to CYCLADEX (cheaper, greener and safer gold recovery process without sodium cyanide) ».

GRAND PRIX START UP

Prof. Victoire de Margerie, Jury Chairman, Tadeu Carneiro, CEO of BOSTON METAL and Bernard Pinatel, President Refining and Chemicals of TOTAL gave the « GRAND PRIX » (50,000 € in cash) to Nicolas Pinkowski, CEO of NITRICITY (San Francisco, California).

COUP DE COEUR START UP

Prof. Stéphane Mangin, Jury Vice Chairman, Edith Coune, General Secretary of INNOVATION FUND and Christophe Cabarry, CEO of SPECIAL CHEM gave the « COUP DE COEUR » (20,000 € in cash) to Daniel Stack, CEO of ETS (Cambridge, Massachusetts).

GRAND PRIX SCALE UP 

Philippe Varin, WMF Chairman, Prof. Victoire de Margerie, Jury Chairman, and Bernard Pinatel, President Refining and Chemicals of TOTAL gave the « GRAND PRIX » (50,000 € in cash) to Martin Stephan, COO of CARBIOS (Clermont Ferrand, France).

COUP DE COEUR SCALE UP

Prof. Stéphane Mangin, Jury Vice Chairman, Edith Coune, General Secretary of INNOVATION FUND and Tadeu Carneiro, CEO of BOSTON METAL gave the «COUP DE COEUR» (20,000 € in cash) to Roger Pettman, CEO of CYCLADEX (Carson City, Nevada).