2025 Start-Up Energy Transition Award Winners Announced

Winners of the 2025 Start-Up Energy Transition Awards Announced

Pioneering start-ups for a sustainable future: The SET Awards honour innovations that drive the global energy transition forward. 

The presentation of our international Start-Up Energy Transition Award (SET Award) has been a highlight of the SET Tech Festival in Berlin for the past nine years. The SET Award promotes innovative ideas and solutions for a sustainable energy future, accelerating the energy transition. This year, groundbreaking start-ups were once again recognised across five categories: Clean Energy & Storage, Mobility & Transportation, Industry, Buildings & Construction, and Quality Energy Access & SDG-7.

The prestigious award ceremony brought together international start-ups, investors, and distinguished guests from business and politics.

Corinna Enders, Chair of dena’s Management Board, emphasised the importance of the SET Award: "This award not only recognises outstanding innovations but also actively advances the transformation of our energy system. By supporting visionary start-ups, we are sending a clear signal about the urgency of the energy transition and encouraging the industry to continue developing sustainable solutions. Congratulations to all the winners for their exceptional contributions."

The SET Award 2025 Winners

The five winning start-ups were announced on the evening of 18 March 2025 at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD). Each winner receives prize money of €10,000 to support their ventures. Additionally, they will participate in the SET Panel at the BETD on 19 March 2025.

This year’s SET Award winners are:

Category: Clean Energy & Storage
Cowa Thermal Solutions AG, Switzerland, www.cowa-ts.com
Cowa develops compact thermal storage using phase-change materials, five times smaller than water-based systems. Targeting Europe’s growing heat pump market, Cowa enhances renewable energy integration and urban energy efficiency.

Category: Mobility & Transportation
Nyobolt Ltd., United Kingdom, www.nyobolt.com
Nyobolt pioneers ultra-fast charging batteries with longer life cycles and reduced reliance on critical materials. Its technology powers high-performance EVs and fuel cells, making electrification more sustainable.

Category: Industry
Cyclize GmbH, Germany, www.cyclize.de/en/
Cyclize converts plastic waste and CO₂ into syngas using a patented plasma reactor, replacing natural gas. This innovative solution reduces plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, promoting a circular and sustainable chemical industry.

Category: Buildings & Construction
Concular GmbH, Germany, www.concular.de
Concular digitises the reuse of building materials, increasing reuse rates from 1% to 80%. By assessing buildings before demolition, Concular drives circularity in construction, saving costs and reducing waste.

Category: Quality Energy Access & SDG-7
Koolboks, France, www.koolboks.com
Koolboks provides off-grid, solar-powered refrigerators with ice battery technology, ensuring 24/7 cooling. Its Pay-As-You-Go model makes sustainable refrigeration accessible for African businesses and communities.

About Start-Up Energy Transition (SET)

SET is a global innovation platform established in 2016 by the German Energy Agency (dena) with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), in cooperation with the World Energy Council. The initiative continuously identifies leading start-ups in the fields of energy transition and climate protection, connecting them with companies, investors, and fellow start-ups. The SET platform is built on three main pillars: the SET Award, the SET Tech Festival, and the SET Newsroom. With over 3,900 applications from start-ups in more than 100 countries and a network of over 50 global partners, SET brings together international start-up expertise and continues to grow successfully as an innovation network in the energy sector. For more information about the SET initiative, visit: www.startup-energy-transition.com.