Cement and faith top innovation competition

A faith-based climate donation platform and a low-carbon cement innovation took the top prizes at the 2026 Cambridge Climate Challenge.

The Climate Challenge brings together postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers from across all six Schools at the University of Cambridge to support early-stage entrepreneurs in climate innovation, building scalable solutions to tackle specific issues.

This year's finalists presented a range of exciting ideas, from sustainable agriculture practices to menstrual products and low carbon materials.

The competition was split across two tracks designed to support ventures at different stages of development.

Canopy, an initiative encouraging Muslim communities to direct donations towards climate charities claimed first prize in Track 1 for new concepts and ideas. Green Mixes earned the top spot over other early-stage ventures in Track 2 for their work on carbon-negative concrete.

"The quality, creativity and ambition we’ve seen across the final has been genuinely inspiring," Cambridge Zero Head of Innovation Shelley Arora-Tailby said, highlighting the diverse, exciting approaches that emerged from the challenge.

The judging panel

Canopy team Daniyal Ashraf, Syeda Hanniya Kamran and Sarim Gillani with Dr Nicky Dee from Carbon 13.

The competition was judged by a panel of expert climate innovators - Dr Lara Allen, Shelley Arora-Tailby, Dr Nicky Dee, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon13, Chris Gibbs, Investment Director (Physical Sciences) of Cambridge Enterprise, and Sam Goodall, CEO of Cambridge Cleantech.

Canopy stood out in Track 1 for its focus on behaviour and social values. The team highlighted that ‘Muslim charitable donations total around £1 billion annually, yet hardly any of that reaches sustainability action. Even redirecting 1% of that towards climate action could be transformative.’

Their aim is to build a website that channels a portion of this funding toward environmental causes by addressing key barriers such as trust and visibility. Users can track donations and measure their impact, connecting donors with verified charity partners.

Syeda Hanniya Kamran from Canopy said feedback from the judges has been invaluable. "Our venture is built on bringing people together. They’ve really helped point us in the right direction and connected us with others in the space."

Syeda Hanniya Kamran and teammates Daniyal Ashraf and Sarim Gillani were awarded a prize of £1500, which they plan to use to develop the website further.

"It’s a fantastic project. We love the way it reminds people of values beyond money and turning that into impact," judge Dr Lara Allen, Director, Centre for Global Equality said.

Track 1 runner-up was Smokeless Stubble Initiative, which aims to tackle open field burning in North India by converting crop waste into biochar, a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal produced by heating organic waste materials (biomass)—such as wood, manure, or crop residues—in a low-oxygen environment.

"A key part of entrepreneurship is unlearning. We really have to challenge assumptions, get out there, interrogate and ask more questions."

Dr Nicky Dee, Carbon 13

Track 2 shifted focus to early-stage ventures that show promise for implementation. Winner Green Mixes, was a team of chemical engineers addressing the high emissions from cement led by Callon Peate and Dr Dushanth Seevaratnam.

"Cement is the second most-used material in the built environment, but it is one of the most polluting. However, we can’t simply replace it," said Dr Dushanth Seevaratnam.

The team have developed an engineered biochar additive that can substitute around 15% of cement in concrete. Each cubic metre stores around 280kg of CO₂e, turning concrete from a major emitter into a valuable carbon sink.

"It's been great to be in an environment where feedback is from people in our domain of expertise," Callon Peate said. They plan to use the £5,000 prize to explore the scalability of the project.

Track 2 winners Green Mixes, Callon Peate and Dushanth Seevaratnam.

Abubakar Abass from A&A Cashew Bioethanol

The standard of the entries was so high the judges decided to split the Track 2 runners up prize between A&A Cashew Bioethanol, a project turning cashew apple waste into ethanol and BioMet, an AI tool that will help assess the risks that climate change poses to buildings and generate potential solutions.

A&A Cashew Bioethanol was awarded two further prizes, with a special commendation from Co-Lab by Journey. They received access to work space from Yasmin Khan-Osborne, asset manager at Cambridge office and lab space provider Journey. The venture impressed the judges so much that Dr Lara Allen also offered a range of venture-building support from the Centre of Global Equality in Cambridge and Ghana for a year.

"The challenge has been amazing. The weekly sessions taught me how powerful the storytelling aspect is," A&A's Abubakar Abass said.

The People’s Choice award went to SupportCycle for its circular approach to menstrual health in Uganda, where 64% of girls miss school during their period. Joan Nantaba Sseggane from the team pitched reusable period underwear made from indigenous fibres, to replace expensive plastic products that typically end up in landfill or burnt in open fires.

The team was also awarded a Special Commendation for a place on the Cambridge Judge Business School Social Venture Weekend, delivered by Nicole Helwig, Executive Director at the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation.

"The challenge has been a great platform. Its amazing to see so many people excited and curious about something I am so passionate about," Sseggane said.

The Challenge is run by Cambridge Zero, in partnership with Carbon13, Cambridge Enterprise, the Maxwell Centre, Energy IRC, King’s Entrepreneurship Lab and CISL Canopy.

Carbon13 sponsored this year's competition. They build and back ventures addressing the climate emergency and Earth's critical life support systems.

Joan Nantaba Sseggane during her pitch for SupportCycle.