Ten semifinalists out of more than 200 global applicants have been selected for the 2025 EarthX Climate Tech Prize, EarthX announced.

The organization said the early-stage startup companies span industry sectors including heavy industry/manufacturing, energy, agtech/food, and the circular economy—and will compete for a $15,000 non-dilutive cash prize and the opportunity to pitch before leading global investment, industry, and innovation leaders at the 9th Annual EarthX E-Capital Summit April 22-24 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

“EarthX is proud to platform and support early-stage sustainability-focused innovators,” Vikram Agrawal, senior director of EarthxCapital, who helps EarthX curate the event, said in a statement. “These entrepreneurs aren’t just imagining a cleaner, more sustainable future—they’re building it with breakthrough technologies that tackle real-world challenges across energy, industry, agriculture, and infrastructure. We need more leaders like them who are developing pragmatic solutions that benefit industry, our people, and our planet.”

EarthX said the 2025 EarthX Climate Tech Prize, powered by Climate Solutions Prize in Montreal, is awarded each year to early-stage ventures with less than $250,000 in revenue and under $500,000 in dilutive funding. The semifinalists were selected by EarthX and innovation leaders from Austin Technology Incubator, Capital Factory, Greentown Labs, and Unreasonable Group.

Last year’s winner was Austin-based En Solucion, co-founded by Alex Athey, an agtech company that produces chemical-free food sanitation. Winners from previous years include an agtech business in Kenya, a materials science business in New York, and an industrial innovator in Texas, EarthX said.

Climate Tech semifinalists

This year’s semifinals will feature three-minute lightning pitches on April 23 on the E-Capital Summit Investment Forum Stage, with audience members voting live to determine which three to four companies will advance to the finals at 1:30 p.m. April 24 on The TV Stage at Earthx2025.

2025 EarthX Climate Tech Prize semifinalists Include:

• Aeon Blue (Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada) – Produces sustainable eFuels by combining hydrogen generation with direct air capture of CO₂ in a single clean-tech process.
• EnnoFlow Technologies (Austin, TX, USA) – Merges edge AI with energy infrastructure to create automated, flexible, and efficient virtual power networks.
• HighGround Ranch Developers (Plano, TX, USA) – Funds and connects regenerative ranches with tech platforms to scale climate-friendly agriculture.
• OptiCloud (Jackson, WY, USA) – Optimizes digital infrastructure with AI tools that reduce cloud waste, energy use, and operational costs.
• Mithril Minerals (Austin, TX, USA) – Develops advanced robotics for low-cost extraction of critical minerals from ocean polymetallic nodules.
• Petra Power (Solon, OH, USA) – Develops compact, fuel-flexible solid oxide fuel cells that deliver high-efficiency, zero-emission electricity for vehicles.
• PowerBox Technology (Champaign, IL, USA) – Provides integrated solar and storage systems that ensure uninterrupted industrial power and lower energy expenses.
• ResonanceX (Santiago de Chile, Chile) – Designs resonant electromagnetic circuits for carbon-free power generation.
• Venki Energy (Silver Spring, MD, USA) – Creates removable rooftop solar racking to enable a subscription-based solar model and expand rooftop access.
• Zero Electric (Austin, TX, USA) – Repurposes EV batteries into storage systems to support fast EV charging and enhance grid resiliency.

Ocean Exchange Pitch

For the second year, EarthX will host the Ocean Exchange Pitch Competition, held as part of the “Brave New Ocean” conference at EarthX 2025. Building on the success and best practices of the E-Capital Summit, Ocean Exchange will spotlight seven cutting-edge blue economy startups working at the intersection of data science, clean water, and ocean intelligence, EarthX said.

Startups participating in the Ocean Exchange Pitch Showcase include:

• Actea: Applies machine learning to ocean climate modeling to provide insights into the future of ocean climate that will enable long term investment.
• Atdepth: Provides advanced ocean assessment tools, including their Ocean Digital Twin (ODT) Ari, which enables real-time, high-resolution simulations of ocean processes that maximize operational efficiency and value for maritime industries.
• Ceretune: Their biodegradable, self-buoyant fabric supports seed-based plant growth on water, converting excess ocean phosphorus and nitrogen into biomass to combat nutrient pollution.
• Fathom Science: Provides ultra-high-resolution ocean, wave, and weather analytics to enhance safety and efficiency for maritime industries, including ports, shipping, and offshore platforms.
• Nucleic Sensing Systems: Develops autonomous, field-deployable monitoring tools, such as the “Tracker,” which continuously analyze environmental DNA and RNA to provide real-time data on biological activity, aiding in the detection and mitigation of pathogens and invasive species in aquaculture and other environments.
• Onvector: Develops a technology that destroys per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using its proprietary Plasma Vortex innovation, which breaks down PFAS molecules into measurable, harmless components and addresses contamination in groundwater, soil, landfill leachate, and industrial wastewater.
• Salient Predictions: Salient Predictions leverages ocean and land-surface data, combined with machine learning and climate expertise, to deliver highly accurate subseasonal-to-seasonal weather forecasts ranging from 2 to 52 weeks in advance.
• EarthX said the Ocean Exchange pitch event will be on Thursday, April 24, during the Brave New Ocean program, which focuses on accelerating ocean enterprise and sustainability innovation. It said the winner will be awarded a $25,000 grant to help accelerate their commercialization.

“We’re excited to partner again with EarthX to help spotlight the incredible entrepreneurs who are driving tangible progress on protecting our oceans and untapping the blue economy,” Millicent Pitts, CEO of Ocean Exchange, said in a statement. “The blue economy represents one of the greatest opportunities of our time—not just for coastal resilience and marine conservation, but for sustainable innovation that fuels economic growth and community prosperity.”

Highlights of E-Capital Summit

According to EarthX, the invitation-only EarthX E-Capital Summit convenes investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, policymakers, dealmakers, and others in the investment and innovation ecosystem to accelerate industry innovation and investment in clean technologies and resilience. Over the past eight years, innovators who have participated in the EarthX E-Capital Summit have gone on to raise more than $5 billion in collective funding.

EarthX said the summit includes a complementary Family Office Summit which convenes a global group of high net-worth investors, industrialists, and philanthropists interested in exploring investment, innovation, and philanthropic opportunities in environmental sustainability and conservation.

Notable 2025 E-Capital Summit Speakers Include:

• Christopher Miller, Former Acting Secretary, United States Department of Defense
• Michael W. Sonnenfeldt, entrepreneur and philanthropist, founder of Tiger 21
• Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, US Navy, former Acting Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Jack Selby, Managing Director, Thiel Capital
• Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer at Large; Founder, Mission Blue
• Bobby Tudor, CEO Artemis Energy Partners; Retired Founder and CEO of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.
• Pablo Vegas, President & CEO, ERCOT
• Pat Wood, CEO, Hunt Energy Network and former Chairman of the Texas PUC and US FERC
• Gen. David Petraeus, partner and chairman of KKR Global Institute and former director, US Central Intelligence Agency
• Sid Miller, Commissioner, Texas Department of Agriculture

EarthX2025 will take place from April 21-25 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. For more information, you can go here.

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