Fostering Investment in Sustainable Chemistry Innovations
The annual ISC3 Investor Forum (IF) unites founders, investors, scientists and decision-makers from industry and politics in a discussion on the role of financing mechanisms to secure the innovation pipeline, and the very specific dynamics of the Sustainable Chemistry innovation eco-system. ISC3 IF panel discussions are matched by pitching sessions and innovation showcases of cutting-edge entrepreneurs, as well as speed dating and networking opportunities with international investors. The Investor Forum also hosts the award ceremony and presentations of the finalists of the global ISC3 Innovation Challenge.
Investor Forum 2024
Impact Festival 2024 has successfully taken place and featured the ISC3 Investor Forum 2024 including our live Innovation Challenge Award Ceremony on October 31st, at Forum Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The event promoted networking and dialogue between innovators, investors and experts in the field of sustainable chemistry and textiles.
On the first day (October 30th) our 10 amazing start-ups presented their ideas in a live pitch.
On the second day, ISC3 was hosting an informative panel discussion on the topic of “Financing Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry and Textiles", where four experts elaborated on the challenges and opportunities for innovation and investment in this field, giving valuable insight to both parties.
Finally, the winners of the Innovation Challenge were honoured on stage.
The main Innovation Challenge Award (15.000 €) was secured by Dimpora AG from Switzerland. Dimpora® is a revolutionary PFAS-free textile membrane that makes fabrics completely waterproof and breathable without harming the environment, thanks to a scientifically based and patented CoreLayer technology.
One Special Impact Award (5.000€) was given to POLYBION(Mexico), that uses locally produced agro-industrial fruit waste as raw material to craft forward-thinking biomaterials such as Celium™- Premium Cultivated Cellulose. Celium™ can be dyed, embossed and tanned using existing infrastructure, resulting in a lower negative environmental impact than traditional fabrics.
The other Special Impact Award (5.000€) went to Renasens AB(Sweden). Renasens contribute to accelerating the transition to a circular economy by developing a waterless & clean technology to recycle agricultural and blended textile wastes to new resources without fibers´ depolymerisation or degradation.
Theseus Development(Ghana) won the Audience Award for their pitch presenting an innovative technology that uses an abundant, natural material to produce an alternative to cement-based concrete called "geopolymers", which can be used as thermo- and cost-efficient building blocks for the building industry. The start-up aims to accelerate the transition to a green built environment by empowering builders to create sustainable communities with geopolymer concrete.
In the end, a masterclass with the title "What dimensions of sustainability does your start-up impact?" hosted by ISC3 allowed participants to gain insights into the practice of sustainable chemistry through interactive exercises and case studies.
The event concluded with the announcement of the next Innovation Challenge 2025.
We congratulate the winners, applaud all great innovative start-ups and thank everyone for witnessing this event!
About Impact FestivalSince 2021, Impact Festival strives to foster collaborations for sustainable innovation by connecting GreenTech start-ups and SMEs, corporate sustainability managers, and investors. By supporting an open exchange of knowledge and connecting key stakeholders, they aim to accelerate the sustainable transformation of our today's economy. Impact Festival's first edition in 2021 attracted already 2,100 attendees. The organisation behind the Impact Festival is neosfer, the innovation unit of Commerzbank which is dedicated to invest in B2B start-ups at an early stage and building prototypes based on new technologies.
The ISC3 Investor Forum 2024 is our 6th edition. To find out more about our previous Investor Forums, please see the related content below.
