A total of 74 teams from 22 EU Member States and 7 Horizon Europe Associated Countries have come together to transform research and knowledge into practical solutions for tackling climate change within their communities, supporting the objectives of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
After months of dedication, creativity, and 14 local hackathons across Europe, EU Sparks for Climate has proudly crowned its three champions of the first European Citizens Hackathon Championship.
The final event, held on 10-11 October 2024 at EURADA's premises, gathered 27 teams of citizens and researchers from diverse backgrounds. These teams showcased their innovative solutions online to a broad audience, with a panel of high-level experts convened in Brussels.
On the first day, the winning teams from the local hackathons presented their solutions to a wide audience. Citizens, researchers, innovators, policymakers, local authorities, entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders had the opportunity to engage with the teams, learning more about their projects and their plans to address climate change. Experts from the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities participated, exploring how these innovative solutions supported the Missions’ goals.
On the second day, teams from across Europe presented their solutions online to a jury panel of high-level experts assembled in Brussels, without public audience participation. This distinguished panel then selected three teams to become the European Citizens Hackathon Champions:
🏆 The Nettuniani for the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission
🏆 deICE for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission
🏆 Allium for Cross-Cutting Solutions
Also, before the final results, nine teams have been recognized as finalists:
🔹Allium – winners of Poznan Hackathon
🔹City Layers – winners of Kassel & Klagenfurt Hackathon
🔹deICE – winners of Trondheim Hackathon
🔹Green Cool Innovators– winners of Kassel & Klagenfurt Hackathon
🔹HempSustain Builders – winners of Coimbra Hackathon
🔹Plimira – winners of Athens Hackathon
🔹Smog Busters Alliance– winners of Burgas Hackathon
🔹The Nettuniani– winners of Coimbra Hackathon
🔹ToysAreGreen – winners of Madrid Hackathon
Now, as part of their rewards, the three winning teams will receive a cash prize of €5,000 and a range of support activities to help them achieve impact with their solutions, either through market deployment, societal uptake, or policy adoption. These support activities include expert mentoring to further develop their ideas, assistance with launching a crowdfunding campaign to fund their projects, and a matchmaking event where they’ll connect with potential stakeholders, problem owners, and investors. Some of these opportunities will also be extended to the finalists.
EURADA played a key role in the EU Sparks for Climate project by supporting the organisation and coordination of events and will facilitate the collaboration among regional development agencies and help to connect participants with key stakeholders in the climate and innovation sectors. As a network with extensive connections to development agencies across Europe, EURADA hopes to leverage its expertise to ensure that the innovative solutions created during the hackathons could be implemented effectively within communities. The association also contributed by providing mentorship, and will connect teams with potential investors, and assist in scale the solutions to drive regional and EU-wide climate objectives.
Congratulations to all the winners, participants, experts, and jury members who contributed to this event!
To know more about the project and the following steps, please click here.
