Your chance to expand into one of Germany's largest industrial hubs. This event is all about meeting your next investor, partner or customer. 10 startups from 10 different countries are invited to pitch their unique ideas to the biggest players in Hamburg's startup ecosystem and make a lasting impression. This year's Nordic Startup Challenge will take place from 24-26 March 2025 at the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg with an industry focus on "Circular Economy and New Materials".
We are launching a new season of the Nordic Startup Challenge. Ou of lots of promising applications we have selected 10 startups from 10 different countries. From new building materials and innovative textiles to sustainable reusable packaging, there is everything that can help us to make our future more resource-efficient.
What to expect as a competeting Startup?
Workshops & Insights: Gain valuable knowledge about Hamburg's innovation ecosystem, legal requirements, and funding opportunities.
Pitch Event: Present your business idea to strategic partners, investors, and industry leaders.
Networking: Connect with leading companies, startups, and research institutions in Hamburg.
Exclusive Visits: Tour renowned institutions such as DESY and Science City Bahrenfeld.
The Nordic Startup Challenge is your gateway to Hamburg’s vibrant business and innovation community. This unique program is designed to help startups connect with key players in Hamburg, explore business opportunities, and lay the groundwork for long-term success in Germany’s second-largest city.
Additionally, you will benefit from personalized pitch training, insights into the local funding landscape, and valuable introductions to industry leaders. Hamburg offers the perfect environment to turn innovative ideas into global success stories.
What to expect as a visiting company?
The highlight of the Nordic Startup Challenge is the Pitch Event on March 25, 2025, where you will discover the latest technologies and most innovative startups in the fields of Circular Economy and New Materials.
This event is more than just a competition – it’s a networking hub for the Hamburg startup ecosystem, bringing together startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem players to foster new collaborations and business opportunities.
At the Pitch Event, a distinguished jury (please see down below) will select this year’s winning startup.
Interested in connecting with specific startups beforehand? We encourage corporates to reach out to us in advance. Let us know which startups interest you, and we will be happy to facilitate direct introductions!
Biohifas is a biotechnology company specializing in fungal fermentation to upcycle food industry sidestreams, such as breadcrumbs, brewer’s spent grains, and potato pomace, into high-value protein ingredients. Our innovative approach reduces food waste while providing sustainable, scalable, and nutrient-rich alternatives for food manufacturers. By leveraging modular fermentation technology, we enable efficient and cost-effective production with minimal infrastructure upgrades. Biohifas is committed to driving the circular economy and shaping the future of alternative proteins.
Bloom Biotech is developing sustainable & carbon-negative microalgae-based textiles, the fabrics of the future. Our materials are produced using our soon-to-be proprietary bioprinting technology, transforming naturally produced microalgae biopolymers into fabric-like materials, in a plastic- & solvent-free way. Our aim is to revolutionize textile production, leading as a B2B supplier of microalgae-based textiles, by offering a safer and less impactful alternative to plastic-derived products.
Fibu AB is pioneering a sustainable alternative to fossil-based foams with its innovative, patented wood fiber foam. Targeting diverse applications such as packaging, insulation, and acoustics, this biodegradable and recyclable material has substantial demand in markets where eco-friendly solutions are essential. With significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions (60-90% less than conventional plastics), excellent absorbent properties, high acoustic dampening, and anti-static features, Fibu's foam is a price-competitive, eco-friendly alternative to fossil-based foams.
Moree's smart reusable packaging helps food brands quit waste and save money. Food brands are under increasing pressure from governments, consumers and rising prices to stop using wasteful single-use packaging, but have no viable solution for reusables. Moree's solution combines our patent-pending flexible reusable packaging with our SaaS platform for tracking packaging and its usage history and environmental savings data.
Catalyco is revolutionizing the local supply chain for sustainable ZnO and CuO by effectively recovering these materials from industrial waste streams. With the EU currently dependent on 40% imported ZnO, we are determined to replace these imports with locally sourced, sustainable alternatives.
KiriCore Sustainable Materials is a young company that develops and offers a sustainable core material for composite materials. Our KiriCore Sustainable Material is an alternative to hydrocarbon-based foams and balsa wood currently used in the production of wind turbine rotor blades. Hydrocarbon-based foams and balsa wood create a dependency on critical raw materials in the renewable energy sector. Our sustainable material KiriCore is based on Kiri wood, which grows in Europe. Kiri wood meets the requirements placed on core materials for composites and is also more economical.
100% natural, compostable, highly protective and aesthetically beautiful packaging material to substitute single-use plastics. RAIKU is a cleantech company that has developed a breakthrough 100% natural packaging material. We've won multiple international awards, raised €1.1M from investors, and secured €8.8M in support from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. RAIKU is recognised as a strategic technology in the fight against packaging pollution.
TEGnology is a cutting-edge Danish company that specializes in thermoelectric technology, with a core focus on providing autonomous power supply solutions and sensor systems based on thermal energy harvesting. By converting waste heat into electricity using advanced thermoelectric materials, TEGnology enables sustainable, self-powered sensor systems that operate independently of external power sources. These solutions are ideal for remote monitoring and industrial applications where conventional power options are limited or unavailable.
We are a spinoff company from Aalto University, Finland. Our product is an onsite vacuum dryable wood construction module with dynamic insulation feature for extreme lifecycle, sustainability, energy efficiency and functionality in any climate on Earth. The beacheed market for us is warehouse-like buildings for moist environments (indoor / outdoor) but in the future we aim to offer our modular construction technology for residential and office buildings as well.
Woolero is a circular startup from Norway, aiming to replace traditional petroleum-based plastics with an innovative natural material derived from surplus sheep wool.
