BERLIN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Winners of the first ever international "Start Up Energy Transition Award" were announced in Berlin on Monday evening, capping a fierce competition designed to support start-ups who have ideas and visions for global climate protection and energy transition.
The award was presented at the end of the first Start UP Energy Transition Tech Festival, which opened here earlier on Monday. Both the festival and the award were initiated and sponsored by the German Energy Agency (DENA).
The award was given in six categories covering different aspects of climate protection and energy transition innovations. Among the winner start-ups, two are from Germany and the rest from France, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria.
More than 500 start-ups from 66 countries entered the competition and only 18 of them were selected as finalists by an international jury.
"We are extremely happy with the popularity of our project and the many fascinating ideas and business models that have been submitted from around the world. It just goes to show how incredible the innovation dynamic of the global energy transition is," said DENA Chief Executive Andreas Kuhlmann.
"We want to use this project to give these committed start-ups a voice in the climate debate. This fits well with the German presidency of the G20 and with the ambitions Germany has or should have for shaping this energy transition," he said.
