The Prizes
Calling all climatetech innovators
Applications for the 2024 Urban Future Prize Competition are now closed.
The Competition
The Prizes
The Urban Future Prize Competition seeks entrepreneurs who are building startups that contribute to a more resilient and sustainable planet. Two prizes of $50K each will be awarded to two companies who embody the drive and mission needed to address the greatest challenge of our time.
New this year, we will be running a prize track explicitly focused on climate adaptation and resilience, the Future Resilience Prize. Most funding to date has gone to address climate mitigation (e.g. decreasing emissions), but very little funding has gone to innovations that support the adaptation side of the climate crisis. According to UN estimates, the climate adaptation financing gap is as high as $366B annually. With the Future Resilience Prize, we hope to spotlight innovative climate adaptation and resilience solutions, catalyze more private investment into this space, and ensure a positive impact on vulnerable communities most adversely impacted by climate change.
All other climatetech startups can still apply for our generalist track, the Future Solutions Prize.
All climatetech startups are eligible as long as they meet the following criteria:
Raised less than $5M in private capital investment
Focusing on a solution that meets at least one of the prize tracks for 2024 (tracks found below)
Climate Sector-Agnostic
The Future Solutions Prize
Sponsored by The New York Community Trust and MUFG Bank
The Future Solutions Prize is our sector-agnostic prize track open to companies across all climate sectors. Eligible startups for the Future Solutions Prize address climate change through technology or business model innovation across categories that include, but are not limited to:
Smart Grid and Grid Flexibility
Renewable Energy
Energy Distribution and Storage
Circular Economy
Transportation and Mobility
Buildings, Energy Efficiency, and Building Materials
Thermal Batteries for Industrial Heat
Climate Finance
Investing and ESG
Climate Adaptation and Resilience
The Future Resilience Prize
Sponsored by The New York Community Trust and MUFG Bank
The Future Resilience Prize is focused on climate adaptation and resilience. We will be paying particular attention to your solution’s impact on vulnerable communities when evaluating this prize track. Eligible startups for the Future Resilience Prize address climate change through technology or business model innovation across categories that include, but are not limited to:
Insurance Innovation
Risk Modeling and Analysis
Water Scarcity Solutions
Heat Resistant Material Innovations
Urban Infrastructure and Resilience
Extreme Weather Vulnerability Solutions
Advanced Warning Solutions
Natural Ecosystem Resilience
Public Health
Adaptation Financing Solutions
The ACRE Incubator
New York’s leading climatetech incubator.
A $50,000 cash prize will be awarded to two grand prize winners. The Future Solutions Prize and Future Resilience Prize winners will also join the ACRE Incubator and gain access to a community of expert advisors, mentors, and investors who will help to scale their businesses and accelerate their paths to success. ACRE companies have raised more than $1.9 billion in follow-on funding, created over 2,800+ green jobs, and have a survival rate of close to 90% since the program’s inception in 2009.
Urban Future Prize Winner Benefits
01.
$50,000 Prize
$50,000 cash prize with zero-equity stake, so you can focus on your company’s next steps.
02.
ACRE Incubator Membership
Acceptance and membership into New York City’s premier climatetech incubator, with incubator specific benefits and unmatched startup support.
03.
Recognition and Opportunities
Ecosystem recognition, media opportunities, and access to introductions to key partners in the public and private sectors.
Competition Timeline
Competition Sponsors
Join a community of innovators.
Past winners, competitors, and finalists - all changing the climatetech world, one innovation at a time.
“Being selected as the winner of the Urban Future Prize has been a rewarding experience in so many ways. The team is deeply committed to scaling climate solutions and uses their agency as a trusted advisor to make meaningful connections with utilities, investors, and channel partners around the world. But really it's more than that, they have created an eco-system of doers that face the same challenges who have a place to share stories and work towards the betterment of the industry and the climate crisis.” – Forest Frizzell, CEO & Co-Founder, Shifted Energy, 2021 Winner
“Winning the Urban Future Prize coupled with joining the ACRE/Urban Future Lab Incubator was a WIN-WIN for WexEnergy. ACRE’s team (…) introduced us to so many key players that have helped propel WexEnergy forward. UFL is a fantastic resource for companies in the clean energy and climate tech markets.” – Rachel Rosen, CEO & Co-Founder, WexEnergy, 2020 Winner
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