From AI-optimised garment design to passive cooling in cities, eight startups shortlisted for The Liveability Challenge 2025

Republished from Eco-Business: Original article here.

‍

Eight innovative solutions were shortlisted for their groundbreaking impact in tackling emissions and climate change during another record-breaking year for The Liveability Challenge (TLC).

The innovations comprise impactful tech-based decarbonisation solutions – from producing biogas from urban waste to using AI to reduce emissions from garment production, and innovative cooling solutions to strengthen climate resiliency and protect against extreme weather events.  

These solutions attest to the continued innovation and commitment to tackling the pressing sustainability challenges of our time: reducing carbon emissions and tackling climate impact.  

The eight finalists were selected after a rigorous selection process involving a record 1,200 submissions and spanning over 100 countries:

‍

Finalists for The Liveability Challenge 2025:

1. Ayrton Energy Inc (Canada)

Solution: Safe hydrogen storage and transport that seamlessly integrates with existing liquid fuel infrastructure for scalable deployment that is up to 50% lower cost.

2. CatAmmon (Israel)

Solution: “Cold” (400ºC) Ammonia cracking, catalyzed by Ruthenium - free, ceramic nanomaterials achieves over 30% reduction in cost for Hydrogen generation.

3. Cetogenix (New Zealand)

Solution: Transforming urban wastes into renewable natural gas, green ammonia, and other circular bioeconomy products with 19 x less carbon intensities than fossil equivalents.

4.  CO2Tech (Australia)

Solution: Cost effective and compact CO2 capture solution; converting emission into carbon negative and valuable products

5. D-CRBN (Belgium)

Solution: Plasma based CO2 recycling with fossil price parity

6. Eztia Corp (US)

Solution: Cooling wearables that absorb body heat, reducing skin temperature by 10°C

7. Krosslinker Private Limited (Singapore)

Solution: Cooling cities 24/7 with zero energy aerogel coating: Passive, powerful and planet friendly’

8. SXD, Inc (US)

Solution: SXD uses its patent-published AI to co-design and scale zero material waste garments, driving 10x the material savings, ~80 per cent reduction on CO2 emissions and up to 55 per cent in cost savings  

‍

From these eight finalists, two will be chosen to receive S$1 million in catalytic funding each, with up to an additional S$400,000 in investment and prize opportunities to be offered to finalists The Liveability Challenge 2025 Grand Finale – which will be held on 7 May 2025 during Singapore’s Ecosperity Week.  

This will be facilitated by TLC’s strategic partners – Enterprise Singapore, OCTAVE Well-being Economy Fund, TRIREC and Valuence Ventures – to mobilise these groundbreaking solutions through strategic funding.  

Presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business, TLC is a global crowdsourcing platform that convenes investors and innovators to scale disruptive solutions tackling the pressing climate challenges facing society today. This year, TLC sought out innovative solutions from two themes:

1. Decarbonisation

Disruptive deep-tech solutions that provide scalable and impactful solutions to reduce carbon emissions across diverse industries, including waste-to-resource, renewable energy and energy efficiency

2. Cool Earth

Innovative solutions that enhance mitigation, resilience and adaptation to extreme weather events (especially heat) for a more liveable planet, including large-scale cooling benefits and adaptive solutions that strengthen resilience across diverse industries.

In another record-breaking year, TLC 2025 registered its highest number of submissions and countries represented since its inception in 2018, with the eight finalists chosen for their groundbreaking and impactful solutions across the two themes.  

“As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and push us closer to irreversible tipping points, the urgency to scale bold, breakthrough technologies has never been greater. The 1,000 standout submissions from over 100 countries reflect the global momentum to decarbonise and protect our planet. This year’s eight finalists – handpicked by our expert steering committees – bring forward diverse and disruptive solutions with the potential to transform entire economies. The TLC Grand Final is more than a showcase – it’s a springboard for large-scale deployment for these solutions, unlocking critical investment and forging powerful public-private partnerships to accelerate climate action,” Meaghan See, Chief Commercial Officer for Eco-Business, said.  

Join this global ecosystem of innovators, partners and funders for The Liveability Challenge 2025 Grand Finale on 7 May 2025 at Ecosperity Week in Singapore this year to witness the groundbreaking solutions redefining sustainability today.  

Click here to register your attendance (in-person or virtual) now.  

‍