ECCI alumni triumph at ScottishEDGE
ECCI start-up alumni have bagged three awards and £165,000 at Scottish EDGE - the UK's biggest small business funding competition.
The winners included Waterwhelm, Lilypads and Gecko Glazing, who all took part in ECCI's prestigious EIT Climate-KIC Accerlerator programme.
Waterwhelm won the Higgs EDGE award for science, technology and engineering focused businesses, scooping £100,000; Lilypads (founder Alison Wood is pictured) won the top Harper Macleod Young EDGE award of £15,000; and Gecko Glazing, Edinburgh developers of a unique cost-effective secondary glazing system that cuts window heat loss by half, took home £50,000.
Start-up success
One of the Accelerator's top-performing companies, low carbon technology start-up Waterwhelm won a string of awards and accolades while progressing through stages 1, 2 and 3 in 2019 and 2020. Waterwhelm’s solution is a unique, self-powered process for wastewater treatment and desalination - turning wastewater into freshwater while generating renewable energy and fertiliser - and ideal for use in small and remote communities. Founding Director Alireza Abbassi Monjezi was previously a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh. waterwhelm.com
Gecko Glazing is developing a unique, innovative secondary glazing which reduces the heat loss of any window far more cheaply, quickly and easily than any existing product. Founder Gareth Claase steered his company through stage 1 and 2 of the Accelerator in 2019 and 2020. geckoglazing.co.uk
Lilypads provides innovative solutions to problems in the feminine hygiene market. The start-up, headed by founder and CEO Alision Wood, is developing a reusable sanitary pad to reduce waste and improve performance. lilypads.org.uk
"Lilypads was on the EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator programme in 2019, for us the programme was much more than training to start a business. It gave us the chance to learn with other similar businesses who were all balancing environmental impact and profitability."Alison Wood, founder of Lilypads
EIT Climate-KIC at ECCI
Through our renowned EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator programmes, from 2017-2020, ECCI supported 43 innovative climate start-ups to create 115 jobs, earn over £8m investment and £6.5m in grants and awards, create £1.44m turnover and 42 new products and services.