CleanTech Business Club and ACWA Power Open Submissions for the World CleanTech Startups Awards 2025 #WCSA2025 Featuring the ACWA Power Innovation Challenge

Tomasz CleanTech Business Club
3 days ago
3 min read

November 24, 2025, Manama, Paris, Riyadh - The CleanTech Business Club (CBC), in collaboration with ACWA Power, has officially opened submissions for the World CleanTech Startups Awards (WCSA) 2025. Now entering its third year, this global competition celebrates the most groundbreaking CleanTech startups and the visionary founders, investors, and accelerators propelling sustainable innovation forward.

Building on the success of WCSA2023 and WCSA2024 — where four distinct categories were introduced — the 2025 edition continues to recognise the outstanding contributions of startups, founders, investors, and accelerators across the CleanTech, Clean Hydrogen and Clean Water ecosystem.

The Four Categories Continue

In 2024, WCSA introduced four separate award categories to broaden its reach and honour the diverse forces driving CleanTech forward. These categories remain a cornerstone of the 2025 awards:

ACWA Power Innovation Award – Celebrates the startup with the most transformative technology, reshaping industry standards and accelerating clean innovation.
Visionary Founder Award (Dr. Charlie Gay Award) – Recognises a founder whose leadership has propelled clean technologies from niche to mainstream.
Visionary Investor Award (Paddy Padmanathan Award) – Honours an investor who has played a pivotal role in scaling clean technologies globally.
Visionary Accelerator Award (Prof. Eicke R. Weber Award) – Rewards an accelerator that has effectively guided disruptive CleanTech innovations to market.

Submission Timeline & Ceremony

Entry Period: 25 November 2025 to 12 December 2025
Startups can submit their entries via the official WCSA2025 submission portal.
Finalists Announced: January 2026
WCSA2025 Awards Ceremony: 26–28 January 2026 at the ACWA Power Innovation Days 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Finalists will be invited to present their innovations live during the ACWA Power Innovation Days 2026, offering them unrivalled networking opportunities with global industry leaders. Winners in all four categories will then be revealed at the WCSA2025 Awards Ceremony during this prestigious celebration of innovation.

Opportunities for Startups

Participating startups gain exposure to a global CleanTech network, with finalists invited to join a CBC Leadership TV Talk and featured in a media campaign across CBC and partner channels. The ACWA Power Innovation Award winner will receive the chance to explore potential collaborations with ACWA Power, a leader in renewable energy, clean hydrogen, desalination, and energy storage.

The Voice of WCSA2025 Chairs

Prof. Anis Jouini, CEO of ECM Greentech and Chair of the CBC CleanTech StartUp Hub, emphasised the significance of the WCSA platform:

“The World CleanTech StartUp Awards 2025 provides a unique platform for CleanTech startups to showcase their innovative solutions and receive recognition for their efforts towards building a sustainable future. This year, we are proud to continue the four distinct categories we introduced last year to further celebrate the diverse contributions within the CleanTech sector. By recognising this broad spectrum, we aim to acknowledge and celebrate the many contributions that are driving the sector forward.”

Thomas Altmann, Executive Vice President of Innovation & New Technology at ACWA Power and Co-Chair of the Awards, reflected on past successes:

“Following two highly successful editions that collectively brought together dozens of startups from five continents, we are thrilled to power the third edition of this competition. The incredible talent and innovation demonstrated by past winners have set a high bar, and we eagerly anticipate what this year’s visionary founders and innovators will bring.”

Join the Movement

CBC invites CleanTech innovators worldwide to participate in WCSA2025.

Whether your startup is pioneering new energy storage technologies, advancing green hydrogen production, or tackling water purification, the WCSA is a platform to share your vision, inspire change, and contribute to a sustainable future.

For more information or to submit your application, please visit the official WCSA2025 submission page. Together, we can accelerate the clean transformation and demonstrate that #TogetherWeAreStronger.