Four groundbreaking ideas that could transform the world around us have been named winners of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2025 Emerging Technologies Competition.
Image Credit: Royal Society of Chemistry
The winners, announced yesterday at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s iconic Burlington House headquarters in London after a nail biting final, are:
- Cardiff Catalysis Institute – Enabling Technologies Category: The Cardiff Catalysis Institute’s new innovative catalytic technology, Hydro-Oxy, decouples chemical synthesis from industrial hydrogen peroxide production. It achieves significant improvements in process intensification, safety and efficiency, reducing environmental impact and lowering manufacturing costs.
- Nanoplume – Energy Category: Nanoplume is scaling the manufacturing of Bio-Aerogel, which is a nanoporous, ultra-light biomaterial for cold chain and thermal insulation applications. Made from renewable feedstocks, it enhances energy and space efficiency whilst promoting circularity in sustainable thermal applications.
- Plantsea – Environment Category: Plantsea has developed plastic-free water-soluble films to replace PVOH in packaging. The product is cost comparative with PVOH, elastic heat sealable, has a long shelf life, and is compliant with dissolution standards.
- The University of Liverpool – Health Category: The University of Liverpool has pioneered a robust, scalable, and automated synthetic platform to develop a new class of antibiotics – synthetic teixobactins. These antibiotics effectively eliminate drug-resistant bacterial pathogens without detectable resistance.
To achieve this accolade, the finalists presented to a panel of industry heavyweights from some of the most prominent companies in the world, covering both the science of their innovations as well as the market opportunities, their planned approach to commercialization and potential impacts.
The winners share £100,000 of no strings funding and invaluable publicity to accelerate and grow their businesses.
Dr Helen Pain, CEO of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: “Our annual Emerging Technologies Competition celebrates the very best of chemical science innovation while catapulting exciting ideas towards commercialization.
“Over the last decade the level of entries from entrepreneurs across the UK just seems to get better and better. It’s truly inspiring seeing first-hand how chemists are working at the cutting edge of scientific discovery, taking on challenges from air quality to antimicrobial resistance, playing a vital role in supporting a sustainable future and driving economic growth.
“It was a closely fought competition this year and I would like to personally congratulate all the winners and finalists on their success – and especially for battling on through a power outage across central London which meant many had to pitch without visual presentations. Previous winners have gone on to raise millions of pounds in equity investment and grant funding, and I cannot wait to watch our 2025 winners go from strength to strength.”
Held on 2 July, 24 finalists came together in London to pitch in person for the competition final. The internationally renowned panel of judges included representation from organisations such as Unilever and Johnson Matthey. After an initial application process, finalists were invited to pitch their innovations to the panel before winners were decided.
The competition showcases some of the most promising chemistry applications across four core categories. This year, entrants represented a range of proposals from tech innovators, start-ups and spin outs.
Richard Lewis, from Enabling Technologies Category winners Cardiff Catalysis Institute, said: “We’re absolutely flabbergasted. This is recognition of both our technology and over 20 years of hard work from previous students and members of the team – it’s fantastic.
“Achieving this recognition for such a prestigious award from the RSC will allow us to have very meaningful conversations and give us that clout, to show that we know what we’re doing and that we are a big player in this field.”
Theresa Hoffmann, from Energy Category winners Nanoplume, said: “It's a very prestigious award. Getting this recognition from a jury of exceptional scientists and industry experts means a lot. It really validates that we're on the right path, both in terms of focusing on energy efficiency, but also in showing that the bio-Aerogel we're developing is a solution that's technically feasible, commercially desirable and economically viable as well.
“We are currently going into third party validation and certification, so the prize money will really help us to accelerate, go to market quicker and kick off customer trials sooner than we planned originally.”
Alex Newnes, from Environment Category winners Plantsea, said: “The standard of competition and the technologies that everybody's working on this year are so incredible. We’re really grateful, and a bit in shock.
“The prestige is immense for us. We're currently going through an investment round, so hopefully it's something that really helps us finish off. And of course, the cash is always super helpful for a startup company. It’ll help with legal fees, as we'd like to file a couple more patents, and we're now doing some more commercial deals with potential customers. It will also fund some key trials we need to do.”
Anish Parmar, from Health Category winners University of Liverpool, said: “It's an amazing feeling. It was a very tough competition, so I'm in shock that we won.
“This will have a huge impact for us, in the sense that it gives us recognition, but it also gives us a structure at the same time. We're already planning to open a spin-out and this will help as I can free my time in lab and focus more on the business side of things.”
The competition provides a unique platform for innovators to gain industry validation and recognition that will enhance their visibility and attract potential customers, partners, and investors.
Since the Emerging Technologies Competition began in 2013, 76 winners have gone on to raise £250 million in equity investment and grant funding. One winner has since been acquired for £28 million, while other winners have expanded overseas, entered commercial contracts and conducted clinical and industrial scale trials.
The Emerging Technologies Competition is supported by the following partners:
- AstraZeneca
- bp
- Cargill
- Ceres
- Croda
- Future Planet Capital
- Givaudan
- GSK
- Innospec
- Johnson Matthey
- NSG Group
- PETRONAS
- RSSL
- Unilever
PlantSea | Emerging Technologies Competition 2025 | Environment Winner
Video Credit: Royal Society of Chemistry