Article 1 - Eligibility criteria for Start Up Challenge

Is eligible to participate any company that fulfills the four following criteria:

• number of permanent staff below 50
• confirmed economic viability
• sizable impact on Using Materials Smarter, Less and Longer
• demonstrated breakthrough - whether technical or organizational - in one of the following topics:

- New materials offering higher functionality (better surface aspects, no toxicity, product usage rate), lower costs, and/or fully recyclability

- New processes whether digital (AI, IoT, sensors...) or non-digital process (3D, CO2-free electrolysis, spintronics...)

- all types of application such as

1. Fuel cell/Hydrogen, 
2. EV batteries,
3. Product light weighting,
4. Data storage and processing,
5. Reduction of water usage,
6. Reduction of energy usage,
7. Storage of renewable energies,
8. Reduction of wastes throughout the supply chain,
9. Reduction of CO2 footprint,
10. Recycling or reuse
11. Biomaterials
12. AI and Quantum
    
    

Each applicant will be entitled to apply for one single project.
 

Article 2 – Requested documents for application Start Up Challenge

Participants will provide a presentation of their company in the form of a PDF document of max 5 pages including a description of their breakthrough innovation, a simplified 3 years business plan, the profiles of top team members and some basic informations relative to their company structure (capital and shareholding).
 

Article 3 – Eligibility criteria Scale Up Challenge

Is eligible to participate any company that has been nominated at one of our previous WMF Start Up Challenges (from 2017 to 2023)
 

Article 4 – Requested documents for application Scale Up Challenge

Participants will provide a presentation of their company in the form of a PDF document of max 3 pages including a description of their scale Up project (capacity, capital expenditure, project team), a simplified 3 years business plan, the profiles of top team members and the updated basic informations relative to their company structure (capital and shareholding).
 

Article 5 – Submission rules for both challenges

Applicants to both Start Up and Scale Up Challenges will send their files to Victoire de Margerie - victoire36@icloud.com - and Stéphane Mangin - stephane.mangin@univ-lorraine.fr
 

Article 6 - Composition of jury for both Challenges

• Tadeu Carneiro, Chairman & CEO BostonMetal (USA)
• Laurent Frescaline, Founder & Head of Technology I Pulse (France)
• Bronwyn Fox, Chief Scientist CSIRO (Australia)
• Gervais Jacques, CEO 5N Plus (Canada)
• Ilse Henne, CTO Thyssenkrupp Material Services (Germany)
• Stéphane Mangin, Université de Lorraine (France) – Vice Chair
• Victoire de Margerie, Founder & Vice Chair WMF (France) – Chair
• Shirley Meng, University of Chicago/Argonne National Lab (USA)
• Martina Merz, Supervisory Board Member Siemens (Germany)
• Hartwig Michels, President Petrochemicals BASF (Germany)
• Bernard Pinatel, President Refining & Chemicals Total Energies (France)
• Alberto Salleo, Stanford University (USA)
• Nick Stanage, CEO Hexcel (USA)
• Karim Zaghib, Concordia University (Canada)
   

Article 7 - Nominees Start Up Challenge

12 nominees will be designated by the jury in May 2024 and each nominated company will receive a package including a free booth at the World Materials Forum 2024 in Paris, as well as free transportation, accommodation and WMF registration for the company CEO.

Article 8 - Nominees Scale Up Challenge

3 nominees will be designated by the jury in May 2024 and each nominated company will receive a package including a free booth at the World Materials Forum 2024 in Paris, as well as free transportation, accommodation and WMF registration for the company CEO.

The package also includes the organization of 3 one to one meeting with Partner CEOs of WMF as per the nominee’s choice.
 

Article 9 - Awards Start Up Challenge

Among the nominees, a winner will be designated by the jury during WMF in July and the 50.000 euros Start Up Grand Prix will be handed out to the winning company CEO by the Jury Chairman, Victoire de Margerie.

A second company will be designated by the jury and the Coup de Coeur Award of 20.000 euros will be handed out to this company CEO by the Jury Vice Chairman Stéphane Mangin

Additional awards in kind or in cash might be awarded by other jury members.
 

Article 10 - Award Scale Up Challenge

Among the nominees, a winner will be designated by the jury during WMF in July and the 50.000 euros Scale Up Grand Prix will be handed out to the winning company CEO by the WMF Chairman Philippe Varin and the Jury Chairman, Victoire de Margerie.

Additional awards in kind or in cash might be awarded by other jury members.
 

Article 11 - Nominees commitments

Nominated companies of both Challenges commit to have their CEO attending World Materials Forum in Paris on July 11th thanks to the packages granted and described in articles 7 & 8.
 

Article 12 - Competition schedule 

• Opening: 1 December 2023
• Deadline to apply: April 15th 2024 midnight PT
• Selection of nominees: Jury meeting to be held between mid April and mid May 2024
• Announcement of nominees: to be made during the 3rd week of May 2024
• Presentation of nominees and announcement of Awards: 11th July 2024 during WMF Gala Dinner
   

Article 13 - Information and communication

Participants and nominees allow World Materials Forum and their partners to use their names, e-mail addresses, full company contact details and a non confidential presentation of their company as included in the company application, and this for the purpose of information and communication actions related to the competition, included all website publications, without any possibility to claim any right whatsoever.
 

Article 14 - Confidentiality

Jury members as well as WMF or partners experts and staff who will have access to files submitted within the course of the competition will commit in written to keep confidential all such informations related to projects submitted.
 

Article 15 - Acceptance of rules

Every participant acknowledges the reading and acceptance of all competition rules by way of participating.
 

Article 16 - Applicable Law

French Law will apply to all matters arising from this competition - and this includes "Loi informatique et liberté" dated 06/01/78 modified by "Loi relative à la protection des personnes physiques à l'égard des traitements de données à caractère personnel" dated 06/08/2004."