Colin Preston

Carbon Cell is an expanded foam that reduces the need for conventional, fossil fuel-based foams while enabling significant carbon sequestration. Using biochar, a carbon-negative material sourced from biomass that would otherwise be burned or decomposed, we have created a high-performance, non-toxic, expandable, fully biodegradable foam. Carbon Cell has a renewable supply chain composed of organic waste and, because it is biodegradable and non-toxic, it can be reintegrated into the biosphere at end of life. Carbon Cell leverages the inherent properties of biochar – non-toxic, highly porous, lightweight, large surface area – to achieve low thermal conductivity and much better compressive strength than EPS. The top uses of EPS are thermal insulation and packaging - places where Carbon Cell can provide a carbon-negative, biodegradable, and non-toxic alternative.

Data Centres already emit more carbon than the entire aviation industry, and with AI fuelling a new boom in data centre construction, they will consume almost 10% of global electricity by 2030. heata believes this to be incompatible with a Net Zero future. Backed by British Gas, heata has reimagined the data centre as a network of distributed servers inside people’s homes, where they capture the waste heat from data processing and use it to provide people who need it with free hot water. heata reduces energy use by 80% and helps people in fuel poverty at the same time. With a network of heata units installed in homes throughout the UK, companies are already joining the heata network to reduce the carbon footprint of their IT whilst giving back to their communities.

The Future of Soil Health Measurement PES has developed a handheld soil health measurement tool that provides in-field results to a mobile phone in 5 minutes. It is currently being trained on 14 soil health characteristics (including microbial biomass, SOM, available NPK and pH). Healthy soils make scents!

Introducing a new aligned fibre material format with superior formability to simplify composite manufacturing. Our fibre alignment technology produces highly aligned discontinuous fibre tapes that exhibit mechanical performance comparable to continuous fibre composites and have a greatly improved formability to simplify existing manual and automated processes. This forms the basis of high-performance sustainable composites by allowing the use and re-use of reclaimed fibres in composite parts, reducing the carbon footprint of composite materials. The tapes can be used as a direct substitute for continuous fibre UD tapes in existing supply chains for various markets including sports, marine, automotive, and aerospace.

Sention Technologies is revolutionising diagnostics in the electrochemical industry, providing unprecedented insights into battery performance, quality, and safety. Our proprietary ultrasound measurement solution, combined with an AI-powered platform, enables us to ‘see inside’ batteries at any stage of their lifecycle, delivering actionable data seamlessly through our cloud platform. By reducing waste and enhancing performance and safety, our solutions empower R&D organisations, battery manufacturers, cell pack integrators, and fleet operators to meet the challenges of the energy transition. Our vision is to accelerate this transition by applying a “no-fault-forward” methodology, transforming the reliability, efficiency, and traceability of the electrochemical industry. Our high-throughput technique allows for the inspection of every battery cell, whether at end-of-line quality control, delivery to OEMs, or the start of its second life in a BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) plant. By improving the speed and accuracy of defect detection and offering detailed insights into the quality of each cell, we aim to eliminate faults, streamline production ramp-ups, reduce scrap rates, and eliminate concerns about battery safety and reliability.

Wastewater Fuels is on a journey to transform our collective approach to treating wastewater. We are transforming an expensive, energy intense industry into a net energy producer, by extracting the chemical energy from a variety of wastewaters, including domestic sewage and industrial food wastes. Our energy efficient modular, scalable asset treats wastewater and in the process produce hydrogen. The hydrogen can be sold to generate a revenue, thus making wastewater treatment viable across the globe (currently c.80% of wastewater is not effectively treated). We are backed by government, academia, industry, and future customers. We are in the process of optimizing and testing our design at our office and lab space in Coventry and are always open to new partnerships and collaborations.

Thrift+ is the pre-loved fashion marketplace. We want to end fashion waste. By making secondhand seamless. Shop over 500,000 clothes from top high street and designer brands. All quality checked by us. All packaged and shipped by us. Moneyback guarantees and 30 day returns? Another plus. Recirculate your pre-owned clothes and earn Thrift+ Credits. We take care of the listing, packing and shipping. We’re Thrift+. We love pre-loved.

Glaia develops innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture. Our mission is to enhance agricultural productivity and reduce the pressure on natural resources by optimising the performance of plants. With an innovative approach to the development of more efficient and sustainable agrochemicals, Glaia’s disruptive technology improves photosynthesis in plants, which is the current bottleneck in food production.

Mykor is a biotechnology and advanced materials company working on developing sustainable materials for the construction industry as well as providing consultancy services. We work across design, engineering and life sciences to provide building materials with excellent physical properties, functional design and radical sustainability.

CoolRun, a Hubl Logistics Ltd entity is dedicated to revolutionizing the cold supply chain industry with sustainable, energy-efficient temperature-controlled transport solutions. The CoolRun Pod, leverages phase-changing materials and cutting-edge design to provide an eco-friendly alternative that lowers emissions and fuel costs while enhancing the flexibility of businesses and individuals involved in cold chain logistics. Our vision is to become the leading provider of sustainable and economic solutions in the temperature-controlled logistics sector. By forming strategic partnerships and fostering innovation, we aim to contribute to a greener future while creating value for our customers and stakeholders. The CoolRun Pod is designed to maintain temperatures for over 30 hours, operate at a wide range of temperatures from 6°C to -21°C, and provide live temperature and location tracking. This cost-effective solution directly reduces fuel costs by up to 20% in distribution trucks and caters to the mid and last-mile sectors of the cold supply chain. Our pods also offer electric vehicle (EV) trucks the ability to transport temperature-controlled goods without sacrificing range and are an ideal fit for temperature-controlled click-and-collect locker systems. Weve completed the R&D phase and extensively tested our CoolRun pods, both in the lab and on-field with various food wholesalers. With five patents pending and OEM manufacturing contracts in place, Hubl Logistics Ltd is poised to launch the CoolRun Pod and bring a sustainable solution to the cold chain logistics industry. Hubls team comprises experienced professionals with expertise in logistics, supply chain management, engineering, and sustainability. Our collective knowledge and resources position us to make a significant impact on the temperature-controlled logistics sector, driving the industry toward a more sustainable future.

Our next-generation tiles have >95% recycled content and a 94% lower CO2 footprint compared to traditional ceramic tiles.

Kelpi is a world-leading sustainable materials innovation business - harnessing the properties of seaweed to create compostable, marine-safe, low-carbon bioplastic packaging. We’re addressing the major problems of marine plastic pollution by replacing fossil fuel-plastics with materials that bio-degrade fully, leaving no toxins nor micro-plastics behind.

Molymem Ltd is a University of Manchester spin-out commercialising technology to improve existing filtration membranes for separation applications in a wide range of markets, including desalination and removal of industrial pollutants.

Carbogenics has developed a low carbon technology to convert difficult-to-recycle and low-value paper waste such as disposable paper cups, paper towels, and more into a range of high-value products with applications in bioprocesses and horticulture. Carbogenics products maximize biogas output, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and optimize agricultural yields. Carbogenics​ patent-pending process is based on a technology known as pyrolysis and yields carbon-rich solids (sometimes called biochar) as well as heat, power, and biochemicals that are useful in a variety of applications. The functional carbon composites that result from pyrolysis intensify bioprocesses like anaerobic digestion and bioremediation. Our first product CreChar for AD is an additive for Anaerobic Digestion (AD) designed to increase the output of biogas plants by at least 15%. CreChar does this by absorbing harmful substances like ammonia, releasing nutrients like magnesium, and supporting a more productive and resilient microbial community. Maximizing the biogas output of a growing number of AD plants in the world is not just commercially important, but also of great environmental value as it generates low carbon energy. The Carbogenics team combines committed researchers from the UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC) at the University of Edinburgh as well as business and marketing professionals. Working with waste management companies and partners in the AD industry, Carbogenics​ products are of the highest quality and fulfill the technical, economic and environmental requirements for the integration of pyrolysis in a waste-based refinery. Our goal is to become a global company in the Cleantech sector and a market leader in carbon upcycling.

The solar car park company turning car parks into renewable energy power stations. 3ti is the UK’s leading designer, installer, funder & operator of solar car parks. Passionate about renewable energy, we believe that providing low carbon EV charging infrastructure is the key to decarbonising the transport sector. Where better to do that than in a car park? | B Corp Certified 3ti has a unique three technology (“3t”) approach to generating renewable energy, by integrating solar PV with battery energy storage systems and EV charge points in car parks. Solar energy from a car park is a low cost, low carbon, innovative way of powering businesses, including factories, offices, shopping centres and leisure venues. Combining it with a battery and local mains power allows 3ti to provide much needed EV charge points for customers, employees and guests. EV charging in a solar car park With around half of UK households unable to charge an EV at home, destination and workplace solar car parks are a cost-effective, sustainable way of providing not only low carbon electricity but also charging infrastructure to support the switch to EVs. Installing a solar car park to generate renewable energy and provide EV charge points facilitates destination and workplace charging in large numbers. This allows EV drivers to charge their vehicles whilst at work, out shopping, visiting a theme park or even at the gym! Solar car park funding 3ti funds the installation and operation of its solar car parks, through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), meaning that customers don’t have to commit to any significant capital expenditure. The PPA fixes the cost of electricity for the customer, with simple monthly payments for the power generated, delivering immediate savings, visibility of future energy costs and securing long term energy supply. Why a solar car park? • Reduce electricity costs • Secure energy supplies • Meet sustainability targets • Cost certainty and transparency

Carbon Cell is an expanded foam that reduces the need for conventional, fossil fuel-based foams while enabling significant carbon sequestration. Using biochar, a carbon-negative material sourced from biomass that would otherwise be burned or decomposed, we have created a high-performance, non-toxic, expandable, fully biodegradable foam. Carbon Cell has a renewable supply chain composed of organic waste and, because it is biodegradable and non-toxic, it can be reintegrated into the biosphere at end of life. Carbon Cell leverages the inherent properties of biochar – non-toxic, highly porous, lightweight, large surface area – to achieve low thermal conductivity and much better compressive strength than EPS. The top uses of EPS are thermal insulation and packaging - places where Carbon Cell can provide a carbon-negative, biodegradable, and non-toxic alternative.

Data Centres already emit more carbon than the entire aviation industry, and with AI fuelling a new boom in data centre construction, they will consume almost 10% of global electricity by 2030. heata believes this to be incompatible with a Net Zero future. Backed by British Gas, heata has reimagined the data centre as a network of distributed servers inside people’s homes, where they capture the waste heat from data processing and use it to provide people who need it with free hot water. heata reduces energy use by 80% and helps people in fuel poverty at the same time. With a network of heata units installed in homes throughout the UK, companies are already joining the heata network to reduce the carbon footprint of their IT whilst giving back to their communities.

The Future of Soil Health Measurement PES has developed a handheld soil health measurement tool that provides in-field results to a mobile phone in 5 minutes. It is currently being trained on 14 soil health characteristics (including microbial biomass, SOM, available NPK and pH). Healthy soils make scents!

Introducing a new aligned fibre material format with superior formability to simplify composite manufacturing. Our fibre alignment technology produces highly aligned discontinuous fibre tapes that exhibit mechanical performance comparable to continuous fibre composites and have a greatly improved formability to simplify existing manual and automated processes. This forms the basis of high-performance sustainable composites by allowing the use and re-use of reclaimed fibres in composite parts, reducing the carbon footprint of composite materials. The tapes can be used as a direct substitute for continuous fibre UD tapes in existing supply chains for various markets including sports, marine, automotive, and aerospace.

Sention Technologies is revolutionising diagnostics in the electrochemical industry, providing unprecedented insights into battery performance, quality, and safety. Our proprietary ultrasound measurement solution, combined with an AI-powered platform, enables us to ‘see inside’ batteries at any stage of their lifecycle, delivering actionable data seamlessly through our cloud platform. By reducing waste and enhancing performance and safety, our solutions empower R&D organisations, battery manufacturers, cell pack integrators, and fleet operators to meet the challenges of the energy transition. Our vision is to accelerate this transition by applying a “no-fault-forward” methodology, transforming the reliability, efficiency, and traceability of the electrochemical industry. Our high-throughput technique allows for the inspection of every battery cell, whether at end-of-line quality control, delivery to OEMs, or the start of its second life in a BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) plant. By improving the speed and accuracy of defect detection and offering detailed insights into the quality of each cell, we aim to eliminate faults, streamline production ramp-ups, reduce scrap rates, and eliminate concerns about battery safety and reliability.