2020 YGT Annual Report
In 2020, an unprecedented pandemic put the world on pause.
YGT also had a hard journey. YGT’s work schedules experienced great change and even cancellations. Meanwhile, our core team members are in New York; the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases has put immense pressure and challenges on us. Empowering and promoting young social entrepreneurs who address environmental challenges to communicate and connect is our initial and persistent aspiration.
However, we didn’t stop our journey to continue progressing. Our team members actively explored new ways of hosting virtual events to more efficiently provide knowledge for young entrepreneurs worldwide and promote cross-industry global cooperation. In the second half of 2020, we hosted our annual summit in Fenhu, Suzhou, and an entrepreneur “One Planet One Community” gathering in Shenzhen.
We are most proud to hold the 2020 YGT Global Competition in Fenhu, Suzhou. In 2020, YGT met the most diversified and international young entrepreneurs. Final contenders’ projects range from biotech, agricultural innovation, manufacturing, big data, new energy, and materials. YGT Global Youth Summit was hosted in Fenhu, Suzhou and 6 winning finalists stood out from our competitive talent pool.
2020 YGT Annual Figures
YGT participants from:
4 continents
28 countries
100+ sustainable social enterprises
YGT made impacts on:
26 media and news outlets
millions of clicks on report of YGT summit
6000+ audiences joined online YGT TALK
YGT developed:
1480 ESG-related global startups database
6+ duo-lingual ESG-related research report
YGT Think Tank Report on Hydrogen and Solar Industry Research
Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind. 2020 helps us to realize that we cannot expect the future to go as our expectations, but we can keep our minds firmly even during tumultuous time and grow from past challenges.
Here are some highlight stories from YGTers:
Csaba Singer, the YGT Entrepreneur of the Year 2020, founded Hybrid-Airplane Technologies GmbH (HAT) in Baden-Baden, Germany. The company established a new flight concept among helicopters, aircraft, and balloons which uses renewable energy. “Now we have UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that float without constant energy usage.”
Read more: A Star Trek Fan Builds His Own Aircraft ｜ YGTer Csaba Singer
While growing up in a family-owned vineyard, Alexander Fostch found his interest in sustainable development. Through the demanding path of agricultural entrepreneurship, he is fostering a dream of sustainable agriculture. Currently, Alexander Fotsch is the Vice President of Product Management at Locus Agricultural Solutions (Locus AG). He is an experienced executive in the AgTech (Sustainable agricultural technology) industry with solid technical experience and strong results-focused business acumen.
Read more: Passion in Sustainable Agriculture | Alexander Fotsch
The childhood memory of writing under dim lamp light sowed the seeds of Govinda Upadhyay’s obsession with the sun. Starting his solar energy business in Switzerland, he strives to promote solar power to the greater world. Govinda Upadhay is the Chief Executive Officer of LEDsafari and Smarthelio. He went around the world for his first company, LEDsafari. Govinda is on the Forbes 30under30 list for his work in the energy domain. He also received the prestigious Swiss Ambassador award 2018 for his work in Education. In addition, he is backed by the EIT (EU) CHANGE AWARD 2015, BITSAA 30 Under 30 Award 201.
Read more: Chasing the Sun: How Govinda Upadhyay Democratizes Energy and Changes Minds
Ye Ting, the founder of BloomGem, has a non-traditional background. Reflecting on her path to this point, she said, "In the very early stage, you often try a lot of different things. When you look back at the later stage, you will find that everything you have tried is helpful to you, and they will not fade away or be wasted. " BloomGem is one of six winners of the 2020 YGT Global Final Competition. BloomGem is an international company founded in 2019, applying genetic engineering research in microbial dye chromatography to create a more environmentally-friendly fashion production supply chain. Through the use of natural and renewable materials from around the world, BloomGem develops environmentally-friendly and cost-effective alternatives to harmful chemical dyes for clothing textiles.
Read more: Ye Ting | Transformation from an Artsy Girl to the Leading Expert in Synthetic Biologic Dye
Jiayu Lun, s YGT Finalist of 2019 and Chief Product Manager of HowBottle, a YGT portfolio startup with the vision of bringing plastic recycling to the fashion industry. HowBottle a Chinese sustainable brand that dedicates itself to sustainable materials. It focuses on renewable materials design, development, and marketing. In addition, it also utilizes reused plastic to produce newly designed clothes and bags to reduce plastic pollution.
Read more: A Young Girl's "Bottle Dream"
Jiayu Lun at 2020 YGT Final Competition in Suzhou
Hamed Beheshti, founder of Boreal Light GmbH. Boreal Light GmbH is a young Berlin-based company specialized in renewable energy solutions for water treatment facilities. The company designs and manufactures affordable solar water desalination systems for off-grid communities around the globe. Systems manufactured by Boreal Light are capable of delivering high-quality hygiene drinking, irrigation, fish farm, and sanitation water from any kind of high saline and polluted water resources. Powered fully by solar, simplicity of the design, and affordability of the cost of the systems manufactured by Boreal Light are the three great competencies the company is proud of.
Read more: Hamed's Secret: Solar+Water=Better Life
Hamed Beheshti at 2019 YGT Final Competition in Guangzhou
José Bermúdez, founder of bound4blue. Bound4blue’s highly innovative eco-friendly solution brings aviation technology to the shipping industry, via a new foldable wingsail designed specifically for assisted clean propulsion of vessels. Today, bound4blue provides an automated wind-assisted system to propel the maritime industry, a solution that is cost-effective for shipowners and operators and reduces pollutant emissions.
Read more: A New Tech Revives Old Wisdom: José Bermúdez and bound4blue
José Bermúdez presenting bound4blue at YGT NEW YORK SUMMIT 2019
Robert Heinecke, Starting from the idea of “moving the technology for air quality from the state in the 60s to the 21 century”, Robert founded a company called Breeze Technologies in Hamburg, Germany in 2015. Simply attach a small and inexpensive sensor on the balcony or front porch, and Breeze Technologies is able to provide real-time air quality data for the surrounding area. Breeze Technologies recommends the most effective clean action, based on local perimeters, from its catalog of 3,500 possible solutions.
Read more: A Breeze of Fresh Tech: How Robert Heinecke Renovates Air Sensor
Robert Heinecke at 2019 YGT Final Competition in Guangzhou
Juan Vicen, YGT 2019 Winner and founder of Zeleros Hyperloop. It is a high-speed transportation solution, while he studied mechanical engineering in Valencia Spain. Zeleros designs and develops new technologies for sustainable and efficient transportation, which will allow it to travel at 1000 km/h with renewable energies, combining the best from the aeronautics and the railway industries. In the short term, the team is applying their knowledge to several fields, but the end objective is to be a lead player in Europe in the development of sustainable transportation technologies and to build key partnerships to make it a reality.
Read more: A Dream Speed: Juan Vicen and his Hyperloop
Juan Vicen presenting Zeleros Hyperloop at YGT NEW YORK SUMMIT 2019
Vincent Bakker, 2019 Young Green Tech Competition finalist and the co-founder and CFO of Positive Energy Ltd, as well as group controller of Entoria Energy. Vincent, a Dutch national working 9 dedicated years in one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, Royal Dutch Shell PLC as its finance and economy expert, decided to quit his job and took a big transition--start his own business in Singapore, in 2018. The general trend of renewable investment gave birth to numerous new energy start-ups and giving many of these start-up projects the investment resources they need, is a renewable energy finance platform, Positive Energy Ltd., the mission of which is to reimagine the energy funding process to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy assets globally. Currently, his new journey with Entoria Energy is focusing on becoming a leading global developer, investor, and operator of renewable energy solutions.
Read more: From Big Oil To Renewables: YGTer Vincent Barker and Positive Energy Ltd.
Vincent Bakker at 2019 YGT Final Competition in Guangzhou
Are you a changemaker, an entrepreneur or BOTH? YGT empowers young creators to address environmental challenges through scalable and clean-tech innovation. Here is the best platform for you to excel and introduce your sustainable idea to the world.
2021 YGT Competition is Now Open for application - https://younggreentech.net/en/2021-application/
Here, you can
- Receive investment opportunities
- Connect with people who want to shoulder the same mission
- Be on a greater platform with a greater global perspective
- Bear a more innovative mindset and greater connections and resources.
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Website: www.younggreentech.net/en/
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If you have any questions, please contact us through email: [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.?
Author & Translate: Joyce Tan
Edit: Wendy Shi