1.Place

Neosens

Neosens addresses an urgent global health concern: the unnecessary treatment of 12% of all newborns in low- and middle-income countries due to neonatal sepsis suspicion. These overtreatments lead to serious adverse effects for the newborns and place a significant financial burden on healthcare systems. Additionally, they contribute to the alarming increase in antibiotics resistance worldwide, recognized as a “global health and development threat” by the World Health Organization.

Neosens is revolutionizing neonatal sepsis diagnosis by offering a frugal innovation focusing on improving performance while reducing costs. Based on a patented technology, our in vitro diagnostic device leverages a machine learning model combining key sepsis biomarkers with clinical signs to provide rapid, accurate, and cost-effective neonatal sepsis diagnosis.

With results available within 15-30 minutes, we eliminate the weeks-long waiting time associated with current gold standards. This empowers neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to reduce costs by approximately 40% per tested newborn while avoiding 67% of unnecessary antibiotic treatments. Furthermore, our device's reusability allows continuous testing with only one device and a consumable per newborn, with the used consumables returned for recycling.

In addition to addressing the global health concern, our solution aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly: Reduced inequality, good health and well-being, and responsible consumption and production. By promoting equitable access to accurate diagnosis, improving healthcare outcomes, and implementing responsible waste management, Neosens strives for a sustainable impact.

2.Place

Irmos technologies

Irmos technologies is an award-winning ETH startup aiming to maximize the safe operational life of existing buildings and bridges. We develop an intelligent cloud-based platform that evaluates the global structural integrity of buildings and bridges in almost real time, based on a limited number of commercial vibration sensors. Our cutting-edge software empowers engineers to monitor the structural health of real structures, reducing maintenance costs and environmental impact and at the same time improving safety. Our innovative solution has already been deployed in multiple benchmark structures. We are a team of dynamic and visionary entrepreneurs with 4 ETH PhDs in structural evaluation, structural health monitoring, data science, and software development. We have an inspiring office space at Büro Züri Innovation Park and we are currently expanding our team from 4 to 6 FTEs for a safer and more sustainable infrastructure.

3.Place

URBNC3

URBNC3 emerged when our co-founder experienced pain when walking. During a doctor's visit, she was advised to wait until the situation worsened before consulting a foot specialist. Because we couldn't accept that, we founded URBNC3 with the goal to provide tailored shoes that prevent foot problems. Our team consists of 6 members with diverse backgrounds. Our vision is to make the shoe industry more efficient and sustainable by automating and digitizing shoe manufacturing processes. Our concept combines innovative technologies such as AI, 3D printing, and smartphone scanning with sustainable materials and modern design. Our first product is modular sandals, with insoles that are ergonomically corrected, customized to the customer's feet through 3D scanning technology. The concept is simple: customers choose their design in our configurator and scan their feet at home using their smartphones. Based on this, we 3D-print midsoles that will be manufactured into sandals in a next step.

The shoe industry is heavily bound by old-fashioned conventions and is one of the most unsustainable industries globally. We need to change that! Instead of animal leather, we utilize plant-based alternatives. For our soles, we use material that is compostable, biocompatible, and partially biobased. The microplastic abrasion from our soles is less harmful than conventional materials due to its better degradability and biocompatibility. Additionally, we test new materials continuously with the goal of developing shoes that are fully circular or biodegradable. Furthermore, our customers could return their shoes for recycling after use in exchange for a discount on their next purchase. With our concept, we prevent mass returns due to incorrect fit and sizes since our sandals fit perfectly from the start. Customers can also create various looks with the interchangeable straps with just one pair of shoes. Our sandals are produced under fair conditions in Switzerland and Europe.

Terra Preta

Terra Preta removes CO2 from the atmosphere and restores the soil health of tropical soils. We empower the production of plant carbon (Biochar) from agricultural residues from coffee and cocoa production. To do this, we work with coffee and cocoa traders and cooperatives to improve farmers' livelihoods while reducing the environmental footprint of cocoa and coffee farming.

Our innovative approach is based on the decentralised production of biochar from agricultural residues. Our mobile and cost-effective reactor system efficiently converts these residues into biochar. Biochar is a soil conditioner that reduces fertiliser use by 30% and increases crop yields. At the same time, it sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and increases farmers' climate resilience. To ensure transparency of our carbon removal, we have implemented an integrated digital monitoring system that accurately measures and verifies carbon removal through biochar production.

Through partnerships with coffee and cocoa suppliers, we gain access to extensive networks of farmers. Through these strategic partnerships and efficient processes, we have the capacity to scale carbon credit production quickly and significantly. Suppliers receive a fair share of the revenue generated by the Carbon Credits and farmers benefit from using Biochar to support their farming practices.

Finally, we sell high-value Carbon Credits to sustainability leaders in the Voluntary Carbon Market or to food producers as insetting projects.

Solskin

Buildings are globally responsible for 30% of our energy consumption and 40% of our CO2 emissions. At the same time, the demands on buildings are changing due to more extreme weather situations caused by climate change. Both new and existing buildings need to become more sustainable and adapt to changing requirements.

The Swiss start-up Zurich Soft Robotics GmbH (ZSR) is developing Solskin, a multifunctional movable solar facade. Made possible by the innovative soft pneumatic drive developed in-house, Solskin is the world's first commercially available solar facade that follows the position of the sun and intelligently shades the building interior. In this unique combination of shading and solar, Solskin produces up to 40% more electricity (compared to statically installed panels) and can reduce the building's cooling requirements by up to 80%. Building owners and architects are looking for ways to reduce building operating costs, keep the building's internal temperature in a comfortable range and integrate photovoltaics in an architecturally appealing way in this energy crisis but also in another record-breaking hot summer, and Solskin offers the perfect solution.

The project originally came from the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich. A Solskin installation has also been mounted at Empa's NEST in Dübendorf since 2021. At the beginning of 2023, the project will be awarded the Watt d'Or 2023 by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy as an outstanding innovation in the energy sector. In the meantime, Solskin has become an industrialised product that is very easy to maintain and is also enormously robust in wind and weather. This quality is also guaranteed by the Swiss certification, which is still ongoing. From the beginning of 2024, the first commercial installations of a few 100 m2 will be possible. At the end of 2024, the start-up will realise its first flagship project with a 1300 m2 Solskin system at KELLER Diamant in Winterthur. But various other projects at home and abroad are already under discussion.

The ZSR team is currently preparing for another round of financing. We hope that the coaching of the Swiss Sustainability Challenge will support us in this process.

Levron Dynamics

We want to contribute to the solution of one of the biggest challenges associated with the energy transition: Energy storage. Currently, electricity production must dynamically adapt to the demand for electricity at any given moment. Since production from renewable energy sources is less controllable than electricity from fossil power plants, storage capacity must be expanded. Currently, the infrastructure of the electricity grid is not physically capable of managing a system of 100% renewable energies.

One solution that is currently gaining popularity is so-called flywheel energy storage. Here, a heavy mass is made to rotate in order to store the energy as torque. To maximise efficiency, the mass is magnetically levitated so that there is no mechanical friction loss. Such a system can compensate for short-term fluctuations up to the scale of seconds, while undergoing regular charging and discharging without serious degradation. This makes the technology advantageous over battery-based storage systems, which have a limited number of charge cycles.

Eryse Gartensystem

Eryse does garden care for more biodiversity and lower utility costs in commercial properties. We handle the planning, we contract out the work and we measure the impact in an annual cycle. As a team, we combine gardening expertise, IT expertise and back-office experience for efficient digital processes.

We see huge potential to enhance gardens in apartment buildings and commercial properties. We want to address the interconnected problems of climate change and biodiversity loss there. First, we systematically assess the potential of a property to bring more benefits to people and nature. Based on this, we make a proposal for possible conversion and adapted maintenance. In doing so, we reduce the number and cost of maintenance procedures. This also reduces CO2 emissions due to gardening. We measure the effect of the measures with the same method that we used to determine the potential at the beginning. In this way, we can systematically demonstrate successes and the resources needed to achieve them.

The current challenge is to create a digital system with as few media breaks as possible - from potential analysis, to care planning, to impact measurement. In a first step, we are focusing on the development of a prototype for care planning.

Blocsy – Shape your space

Blocsy is the ultimate solution for sustainable and stylish living, designed to meet the needs of people and organizations who want to live sustainably without sacrificing style or convenience. Did you know that every year in Switzerland, over 200,000 tons of furniture end up in landfills? With Blocsy’s sustainable modular furniture, you can reduce your carbon footprint and help combat this waste. Our unique, “lego-like” kits make it easy for you to assemble and disassemble your furniture without any tools, saving you time and hassle.

With Blocsy, you have the freedom to change the shape, size or function of your furniture, allowing you to create unique, functional and beautiful pieces that fit your lifestyle perfectly. Our commitment to circularity means that we’re constantly striving to reduce waste and increase the lifespan of our products. We even offer a repair service to ensure that your Blocsy furniture lasts a lifetime. Whether you’re a student, a young professional, or just someone who wants to create a unique and sustainable living space, Blocsy has got you covered. So join us in creating a more sustainable and circular world, one modular piece at a time.

We’re here to disrupt the wasteful, linear, fast-furniture model that’s currently dominating the industry. We reject overproduction, overconsumption, and low durability Furniture products. We’re committed to providing sustainable, modular, and repairable furniture that’s built to last. We manage end-of-life use ourselves, adopting a circular approach that’s convenient and adds value for both users and our planet.

BRAva

BRAva stands for custom made bra created by 3D technology and was founded 2022 by Kathrin Grossenbacher and Isabella Stoklossa. Eight out of ten women wear the wrong bra size and feel uncomfortable every day due to ill fitting bras. Thanks to 3D technologies BRAva wants to provide comfortable, fitting bras to women with the highest possible wearing comfort. With the help of the BRAva-app, women will be empowered to scan their bodies on their own and formulate their personal bra needs. After scanning they will receive a bra perfectly manufactured to their body in a short time and at an affordable price. No overproduction thanks to individual measurement means we make the fashion industry sustainable.

b-char

b-char is an innovative start-up with a clear vision: to scale CO₂ removal. By doing so, we aim to mitigate the impact of climate change and help build a sustainable future. We pursue this goal by facilitating the production of plant carbon from biomass, even in the most remote regions of the world. By doing so, we are harnessing the incredible potential of tropical biomass resources and creating solutions that help reduce CO₂ emissions, improve soil health and remove carbon.

We create plant carbon through a process called pyrolysis. In this process, we treat previously unused biomass, which has absorbed CO₂ as it grows, at high temperatures and without oxygen. The result is a solid material similar to barbecue coal, which consists almost exclusively of carbon. We incorporate this into agricultural soils, where it is safely stored for centuries. The charcoal thus permanently removes CO₂ from the atmosphere. At the same time, it improves soil fertility and promotes plant growth, especially in tropical regions with nutrient-poor and acidic soils.

b-char works hand in hand with smallholder farmers, sustainable businesses and communities to make the best use of their unused biomass resources. With our simple, complete solutions, we enable the establishment and operation of plant carbon projects even in the most remote regions. In doing so, we scale CO₂ removal, increase smallholder crop yields and incomes, improve tropical soil health, strengthen global food security and agricultural resilience to the challenges of climate change.