The 15 finalists of Prince William’s Earthshot prize 2023 were announced at a glittering innovation summit in New York, held in September as part of Climate Week NYC.
The Earthshot Prize 2023 finalists, at the awards ceremony in Singapore
And, once again, a CIPA Nominee was named among the potential’s winners, highlighting the importance of patenting on the international stage.
Colorifix, a client of Mathys and Squire, was one of three finalists in the Build a Waste-Free World category. The Norwich-based company has developed and patented the first entirely biological process to produce, deposit and fix colour to textiles, removing petrochemicals and other harmful substances whilst saving significant water and energy.
Every year, nominations are sought across five categories, with the winners receiving £1 million and access to an international network of business support and a global platform from which to showcase their solutions across the world.
We are honoured to be a part of the The Earthshot Prize family, both as an Official Nominator and as a provider of free intellectual property due diligence checks on a shortlist of potential winners. Our members also provide pro bono IP advice to any finalist in need.
The search for the 2023 winners ended at an awards ceremony in November with Colorifix among the 10 runners-up. The previous year a CIPA nominee, Notpla, won in the same category while two more of our nominees, Low Carbon Materials and Lanzatech, were runners-up.
The September summit was held as part of Climate Week NYC, run by the Climate Group in partnership with the UN General Assembly and the City of New York and the awards were held in Singapore in November as part of the first Earthshot Week. As a key partner to the Prize, CIPA was among the invited guests at both events.
Taking to the stage in New York were HRH The Prince of Wales himself, Bill Gates, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and representatives of our three finalists from the previous year, Notpla, LanzaTech and Low Carbon Materials.
Deputy Chief Executive Neil Lampert attended the summit and caught up with Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder of Notpla, and Natasha Boulding, CEO of Low Carbon Materials.
Pierre was pleased to report that, since winning the Prize, Notpla has had its first patent granted in the USA.
He said: “We have also filed a new patent covering some exciting new developments and are always looking to leverage patents to create value and to give us some defence in the market.”
Natasha said: “In the last 12 months we have filed two or three more patents. It’s absolutely key to our strategy because our ultimate aim is to license our technology. So having a robust IP strategy is essential. We are constantly thinking of ways to protect the next products that we create.”
Tahira Newman-Shah
Stakeholder Engagement and Experience Manager, The Earthshot Prize
“CIPA has been an invaluable partner in The Earthshot Prize’s search for ground-breaking innovation. Since joining as Official Nominators in 2021, CIPA has nominated three exceptional finalists and a remarkable winner, highlighting the calibre of candidates they bring to the table. Beyond nominations, CIPA’s deep expertise has been instrumental in strengthening the Prize’s due diligence process and providing critical IP support to our finalists. We are deeply grateful for CIPA’s commitment to supporting innovation, and for their continued dedication as part of the Earthshot family.”