On July 20, the application process began for the Climate Innovation Vouchers competition aimed at supporting Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses. The deadline for project submissions is September 30, 2023. Ukrainian businesses can receive grants of up to €50,000 for the development or implementation of climate technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy efficiency. This announcement was made during the presentation of the third wave of the competition.
The Climate Innovation Vouchers competition is one of the largest grant programs in Ukraine, supporting green innovations and stimulating the development of climate-friendly technologies. The start of the third wave of grant support for green innovators became possible even amid the challenging circumstances of the war with russia.
The winners of the 2023 grant competition will be able to use the Climate Innovation Vouchers to cover expenses necessary for refining their innovation, promoting it to other markets, and fostering breakthroughs in the company’s development and technology scaling. These expenses may include prototype design, certification, testing, patenting, IT component development, marketing, and more.
Entrepreneurs developing or implementing climate innovation technologies can participate in the competition. They must be registered legal entities (private companies) operating in Ukraine for at least 1 year and belong to the small and medium-sized business sector. Additionally, participants must be prepared to co-finance the project with a minimum of 25% of the grant amount.
More information about the competition terms can be found on the Participants page of the competition’s website. Applications can be submitted via this link.
Projects will be evaluated by an expert jury based on criteria such as the level of innovation of the product or technology, its impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, scalability and applicability in other sectors, market potential, and the project’s realistic implementation considering the team’s experience and expertise.
Potential participants in the grant competition will have access to weekly online consultations regarding project details and application filling. More information and registration for consultations can be found on the website. For any questions, please contact civ@greencubator.info
You can view the presentation recording of the start of the new wave of the competition using this link.
Last year, 13 Ukrainian companies successfully received Climate Vouchers with a total value of 500,000 euros and have already implemented their own green solutions and adopted European standards, as Ukraine is continually moving towards EU membership.
About the Competition:
The Climate Innovation Vouchers project is a component of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) program Climate Technology Transfer and Finance Center (FINTECC), supported by the European Union in Ukraine as part of the EU4CLIMATE initiative. The project is implemented by the NGO Greencubator.
In Ukraine, Greencubator has been implementing the project for the sixth year, supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in the field of climate innovations and the development of the green economy in Ukraine.
The project has already supported well-known companies such as Delfast, a manufacturer of electric bikes and Guinness World Record holders; PRANA, a manufacturer of energy-saving recuperators; TOKA, GO TO-U, Eco Factor, operators of solutions for electromobility; xBeam3D, a developer of titanium wire 3D printing technology; HEMPIRE, a developer of ecological building materials based on technical hemp, and others.
This year, three project winners represented Ukraine at the StartUp Energy Transition Tech Festival: Frendt LLC (precision agriculture solutions), Efarm.pro (agronavigation solutions), and S.Lab – Sustainable Laboratory (development of biodegradable packaging materials). Two Ukrainian companies, Eco Factor and Carbominer, were also listed in the SET100, another beneficiary of the project.
