The TOP Swiss Cleantech Startups 2021

Cleantech innovations have become a critical factor in keeping Earth healthy and safe. Discover the top cleantech startups whose innovations help reduce negative environmental impacts and create a more sustainable future.

The TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award showcases the most promising Swiss startups. The annual ranking has become a benchmark in Switzerland’s startup ecosystem—and beyond. Every year, a panel of 100 leading investors and startup experts chooses the 100 most innovative and promising Swiss startups. Each jury member nominates 10 Swiss startups that are less than five years old and show the greatest commercial potential. The first-placed company gets 10 points, the second nine points, and so on. The individual rankings are compiled to generate the final TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award ranking. In parallel, the TOP 100 Public Voting allows everyone with a LinkedIn account can cast one vote and choose the most promising startup per vertical.
 
Find out which six cleantech startups received the most points from the members of the TOP 100 Jury and the public in 2021: 



18. Bloom Biorenewables 
Plastics, cosmetics, textiles: Bloom Biorenewables wants to ban petrochemical products from our everyday lives and replace petroleum with vegetable substances in material production – a “must” to achieve the climate targets. The first prototype factory is planned for 2022 to prove that the new technology works, and the EPFL spin-off is looking for CHF 30 million to CHF 50 million to fund this.

19. DePoly 
Valais startup DePoly’s polymerization plant is able to recover PET components in bottles, containers, and fabrics and make them available again as a raw material. Last December, DePoly raised CHF 1.3 million in venture capital from Swiss, German, and American investors.

59. Daphne Technology 
Container ships, oil tankers, and freighters are gigantic polluters, and the climate debate is forcing the shipping industry to rethink. Daphne Technology has developed a nanotech filter that reduces sulfur oxide emissions from ship engines by 99% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 85%. The residue can even be sold as fertilizer. Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is one of Daphne’s investors.

61. Plastogaz 
Plastogaz, an EPFL spin-off, is working on a process for the chemical conversion of plastic into short-chain hydrocarbons, which can be used as fuel or to manufacture new recycled plastics. The proof of concept has been provided, and the Lausanne-based company intends to set up the first industrial-scale demonstration plant in 2022.

70. ClearSpace
The contract brought the Vaud-based cleantech startup ClearSpace into the headlines across Europe: Last November, it became known that the European Space Agency ESA had commissioned a consortium led by ClearSpace to carry out a clean-up operation in space and had provided it with EUR 86 million. In 2025, the ClearSpace-1 scrap collection probe is expected to recover leftover parts of a rocket launched into space in 2013.

Public Voting: Perovskia 
Aubonne-based Perovskia designs the future of solar cells: The startup has developed a digital printing technology that fabricates efficient and stable perovskite solar cells at low costs. The design of Perovskia’s printed solar cells can be customized to cater to the diverse requirements of the Internet of things, electronic devices, and sensors.