Solarpunk Business

Foreverland, Green Spot Technologies and Kawa Project have all won Bühler Group’s future-friendly chocolate innovation programme.

Recognised for their cocoa-free ingredients, they emerged victorious from a pool of over 50 applicants to the New Chocolate Challenge, which sought to find sustainable solutions for an industry marred by climate change. The New Chocolate Challenge focused on three cocoa-free innovation routes: plant-based or upcycled sidestreams to deliver chocolate-like flavours and textures, biomass or precision fermentation to produce essential chocolate compounds (like flavours and lipids), and cell-culture approaches directly leveraging cocoa cells

Producing chocolate emits more greenhouse gases than any other food except beef, and making a single bar requires 1,700 litres of water on average. Further, the industry is the source of widespread deforestation and food waste.

The cocoa crisis has prompted the industry to look for sustainable alternatives, resilient to climate change and supply shocks. 

Foreverland, based in Puglia, Italy, modernises the carob-based chocolate substitutes of the previous century with fermentation. Its ingredient, called Choruba, valorises a widely wasted food (90% of the carob fruit is discarded globally, with the seeds used for locust bean gum) and lowers water consumption by 90% and emissions by 80%, compared to conventional chocolate.

Green Spot Technologies takes a similar approach, upcycling commercial food waste by fermenting it into functional ingredients. Its cocoa-free solutions are made from fava bean fibres and grape skins, and are sold under the Milatea brand as powders, chocolate chips, and fillings. It recently raised €5M in funding to scale up these innovations.

At the core of Katchi’s innovation is the SmartNet, a high-tech trawl that “flies” above the seabed instead of scraping it. Using hydrodynamic blocks, depth sensors, and automated winch controls, the system keeps the net at the optimal altitude to protect marine habitats and reduce drag.

Their hardware lineup also includes HydroPucks, which replace heavy trawl doors, and advanced cable-control systems that allow real-time adjustments — all designed to reduce fuel use, prevent gear damage, and improve catch efficiency. It’s a complete rethinking of how commercial fishing gear interacts with the ocean floor.

Founded by Marc d’Entremont, a lifelong commercial fisher turned entrepreneur, Katchi is built on lived experience. Marc saw first-hand how traditional trawling methods were becoming unsustainable — both environmentally and economically.

Katchi’s work is part of a larger movement toward a blue economy — one that balances ocean health with human prosperity. By reducing by-catch, lowering emissions, and preserving seabed ecosystems, they’re showing that sustainable practices can also make financial sense.

Renewable energy, led by solar power, will grow faster than any other major source in the next few years, the annual outlooks says.

The report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) said renewable energy, led by solar power, will grow faster than any other major source in the next few years and that coal and oil demand will likely peak globally by the end of this decade.

The report noted that many natural gas projects were approved in 2025 due to changes in US policy, indicating worldwide supply will rise even as questions remain about how it will be used. Meanwhile, global nuclear power capacity is set to increase by at least a third by 2035 after being stagnant for years.

The release of the annual World Energy Outlook coincided with UN climate negotiations in Brazil this week, where global leaders are calling for ways to curb the planet's warming.

Renewables and electrification will ‘dominate the future’

Energy analysts believe that the shift to clean power is happening regardless of climate policy around the world.

Amsterdam-based Fairphone has begun its U.S. expansion with the launch of its Fairbuds XL headphones through Amazon and plans to introduce its smartphone line later this year.

The company hopes to tap into the country’s growing “right to repair” movement, which supports consumers’ ability to fix rather than replace their electronics.

Fairphone’s approach is not about competing on power or performance, but about offering durability, ethical sourcing, and longevity.

Founded in 2021 by Celeste Vogel and Jimmy Tune, eWaka aims to provide a comprehensive service for delivering goods to the doorstep, known as the "last mile".

Wagabox for circular waste-to-fuel

Waga Energy, founded in 2015 by Mathieu Lefebvre, Nicolas Paget, and Guénaël Prince, is a French company turning landfill gas into valuable biomethane using advanced membrane technology.

Valued at around $734 million, Waga Energy captures methane from waste decomposition and converts it into low-carbon fuel usable in existing gas networks.

We are at an ecological (disconnection from nature), spiritual (widespread loss of meaning and purpose), and social (inequity rising) tipping point. We can no longer sustain the broken system that got us here and showed its limits.

The characteristics of a Regenerative Platform include:

They embed a holistic point of view to design and decision-making; each decision is made taking into account the impact on other parts of the system.

They are individuals and teams aligned on a mission; impact-driven communities.

They look to create the conditions and environment for everyone to express their maximum potential and develop themselves inside and outside the company.

They focus on potential, not problems.

Non-human stakeholders are included by design.

Context is the Queen.

Shared-Governance approach.

They work for the co-evolution of the entire ecosystem.

Tunisian startup Bako Motors launches solar-powered electric vehicles

Bako Motors has introduced a line of cars and cargo vans equipped with [features] to the African market. rooftop solar panels e lithium batteriesThis combination allows the vehicles to be loaded with free energy, significantly increasing their autonomy and reducing operating costs.

According to the startup, this technology is ideal for regions with limited electrical infrastructure. like many rural areas in Africa. Free solar energy and extended autonomy: a solution designed for the African continent.Designed for urban deliveries, with a load capacity of up to 400 kilograms and a range of 100 to 300 kilometers per charge.

What message do you have for businesses that are not already fostering sustainable change?

I only have one message – wake up. The two major drivers of future business are, in my mind, the digital transformation – which we’re in the middle of – and the sustainable transformation. The first is driven by technology, the second by customers and consumers.

If you think you can survive without meeting your customers’ demands, then continue doing what you are doing today. But if you believe you need to meet customer demand, then you’d better start transforming your company into a sustainable one.

The inaugural All-Island Circular Venture Awards, led by Circuléire and funded by the Irish Government, is looking for innovations that contribute to Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon, regenerative economy.

Think design for circularity, remanufacturing, repair, circular supply chains, reverse logistics or other circular economy ideas, writes the Circuléire team.

A new German development surprises with its innovation in hydroelectric energy: it is the cableKites technology, which harnesses the power of the sea.

This is a power generation system based on underwater “kites” that converts water currents into clean energy without the need for dams.

The model mimics the operation of a ski lift, although in reverse.