Holcim's Accelerator challenges startups to accelerate sustainable construction

• World-renowned explorer and environmentalist Bertrand Piccard joins Holcim to launch this year's program
   
• Startups challenged to speed up innovation from recycling construction & demolition waste to green building solutions
   
• Enrollment is open until March 27, with 6-month program running from May to November 2022
   

The third edition of Holcim's Startup Accelerator Program kicks off today, challenging startups to accelerate sustainable construction with disruptive solutions. Startups from around the world are invited to apply to one of nine Accelerator challenges, ranging from circular construction to green building solutions. The event was opened by world-renowned Swiss explorer and environmentalist Bertrand Piccard, with a call to action to put business to work for the planet. New partners to this year's edition include France-based construction company Bouygues Construction and leading UK engineering consultancy firm Mott MacDonald. Specialty chemicals company Sika, a longstanding partner of the Accelerator, will participate again this year.

Jan Jenisch, CEO Holcim: 'At Holcim we work with hundreds of startups around the world to accelerate innovation for sustainable construction. The Holcim Accelerator Program allows us to connect with the world's brightest minds to drive disruptive breakthroughs. I invite this year's startups to think outside the box across all dimensions of building from circular construction to smart building design.' 

Bertrand Piccard, Founder of the Solar Impulse Foundation: 'The construction industry has a key role to play to accelerate our world's transition to net zero. Holcim's Accelerator is a unique incubator for startups around the world to put innovation to work for our planet. I look forward to many inspiring ideas to shift gears this year.'

The Holcim Accelerator Program in 2022
The Holcim Accelerator Program is open to startups from around the world as a key platform to access mentoring, expertise and scale-up opportunities. Startups will have unique access to business experts in nine countries across Europe, North and South America, as well as Australia. Enrolment for participants is open until 27 March. The program runs between May and November, with startups presenting their work during Holcim's Demo Day in December 2022.

For more information on this year's challenges, see https://www.holcim-accelerator.org/.

About Holcim
Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving the circular economy as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Holcim is the company behind some of the world's most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Holcim and Lafarge. Holcim is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products.

Learn more about Holcim on www.holcim.com, and by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

More on the Holcim Accelerator
Launched in 2018, the Holcim Accelerator is an intensive 6-month program dedicated to speeding up low-carbon innovation along the construction value chain. Selected startups gain unique access to a powerful mix of business and technical expertise across different markets and geographies, as well as to Holcim's Innovation Center in Lyon and its state-of-the-art lab equipment. Over the past four years, more than 20 startups have benefited from the program.

As part of its open innovation ecosystem led by Holcim MAQER and the Holcim Innovation Center, Holcim works with more than 120 innovative startups around the world pioneering new technologies to accelerate our world's transition to net zero.

For more information, visit holcim-accelerator.org and follow us on LinkedIn.
 

Important disclaimer - forward-looking statements:
This document contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets, as the case may be, including with respect to plans, initiatives, events, products, solutions and services, their development and potential. Although Holcim believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions as at the time of publishing this document, investors are cautioned that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Holcim, including but not limited to the risks described in the Holcim's annual report available on its website (www.holcim.com) and uncertainties related to the market conditions and the implementation of our plans. Accordingly, we caution you against relying on forward-looking statements. Holcim does not undertake to provide updates of these forward-looking statements.