About THE PROGRAMME
Context and Goals
A paradigm shift is urgently needed to reverse the negative trends in global environmental and social issues (such as loss of biodiversity, depletion of natural resources, increases in pollution and waste, climatic change, economic and social disparities, etc.).
Sustainability initiatives will not be sufficient to save our civilization and the Earth as we know it today. A rapid transition towards a regenerative economy is required.
To this end, Tech4Regen fosters collaborations between different stakeholders to help disruptive startups deploy and scale-up their technologies through regenerative business models and strategies. Founded and managed by the EPFL Innovation Park, the accelerator programme aims to reach a critical mass of gifted and skilled leaders, partner institutions, and corporations, to accelerate the mass adoption of regenerative solutions.
The French-speaking part of Switzerland is a breeding ground for innovation in this area, with the emergence of numerous startups from the EPFL and the universities, and the presence of many international organizations and corporations which act as sounding boards.
Beyond Cleantech/Greentech, the focus is on technologies for the regeneration of essential resources and systems. While clean technologies aim to reduce damage to the environment, regenerative technologies aim to restore and regenerate it.
Photo courtesy of Ecorobotix SA — Innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture.
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Areas of Innovation
TEAM & Experts
Dr. Cara Tobin
Dr. Cara Tobin
Innovation Coach, Founder | C Greene Solutions
Cara founded a successful blended climate finance platform in 2015.
In 2018, she was invited to join Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) where she mentors start-ups funded by CEV at seed and Series A levels.
Cara mentors approximately 40 companies annually for Mass Challenge (MC) Switzerland as their climate solutions and sustainable manufacturing coach. She supports MC start-ups to identify KPIs, improve pitches and financial projections and find paid pilots and investment. This year, Cara supported start-ups to quantify their impacts on the SDGs. In 2023, she coached 6 of the top 10 start-ups and has received the highest ratings as a coach for 2 consecutive years. Some of the start-ups that Cara has coached/is coaching include: LiveGrow Bio, Carbonaught, Gaia Technologies, Databaum, Revocircle and Instaheat.
Cara is also an Energy and Environment expert for Innosuisse and accredited Special Coach for Sustainable business strategies and impact measurement (SDGs).
Dr. Eric Favre
Dr. Eric Favre
Startups coach & innovation expert
Passionate, successful, and seasoned engineering and innovation executive, having led multiple R&D teams around the world, benefiting from a sharp and holistic business understanding to shape and optimize processes, tools, and organizations, to timely deliver and produce new products impacting the business, creating value for all stakeholders.
Took benefit from the above to coach and drive technology startups to success, highly appreciated by owners and shareholders, staying close to small SMEs and research organizations to develop collaborations and a proper agile innovation mindset.
MSc (1986) and PHD (1990) from EPFL, then always active in developing business / products (motors &electronics, sensors, fluidic related products) for OEM customers, working first 10 years for a startup (ETEL), then 10 years for a mid-size and global sensors’ company (LEM), then 12 years for a large multinational (IMI) as Global Engineering Director.
Elisabetta Aebischer
Elisabetta Aebischer
Sustainability Manager | EPFL Innovation Park
Elisabetta is a strategy development partner, in a mission to transform innovation into sustainable innovation through knowledge dissemination.
Chemist, with more than twenty years' experience in the industry, her expertise covers business management, business development management, strategy development, complex project management.
She is currently working as Sustainability Manager for the program Tech4Regen at the EPFL Innovation Park.
She is an expert for Innosuisse where she brings scientific, innovation, business acumen and sustainability knowledge.
Ivana Monnard
Ivana Monnard
Sustainability Manager | EPFL Innovation Park
Passionate about sustainability and the positive impact of businesses, Ivana has an academic and professional background in corporate communication, marketing, and project management. She has built strong expertise in product launches, campaign management, and brand strategy development.
Today, Ivana is deepening her expertise in sustainability by integrating responsible practices into corporate strategies. Her approach combines strategic vision and hands-on execution to drive high-impact initiatives.
LEAD Partners
The EPFL Innovation Park enjoys a strong track record of scaling up disruptive tech and bringing startups to success. It provides flexible office and lab spaces close to EPFL institutes, as well as acceleration services to 300+ high-tech companies: startups, scale-ups and innovation cells of major corporations. With the support of a wide and dynamic network of experts, business partners and investors, it runs several equity-free accelerators open to Swiss and international startups.
The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL; English: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) is a public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland. Established in 1969, EPFL has placed itself among the most prestigious universities in the world for the quality of its education and research in engineering and natural sciences.
The Service de la promotion de l'économie et de l'innovation (SPEI) supports and advises companies and entrepreneurs based in the canton of Vaud. SPEI provides direct financial grant, in particular to accelerate innovation or the transition to sustainability. It supports and advises companies, start-ups and project leaders in their collaborations with the cantonal administration, and directs them to the appropriate entities according to their specific needs, such as coaching, financing, innovation or finding land or premises.
The Valery Foundation positions itself as a philanthropic venture partner with the goal of bridging the gap between traditional philanthropy and early-stage impact investors. It promotes the dynamic and innovative vision of impact ventures while upholding the values of the philanthropic realm. The foundation leverages its capacity to generate and support impactful, tech-oriented solutions with the potential for wide-scale deployment. Its agility and low aversion to risk empower it to explore paths often overlooked by conventional institutions.
As a conviction-driven investment house founded upon the belief that wealth should be used to build the world of tomorrow, Edmond de Rothschild specialises in Private Banking and Asset Management and serves an international clientele of families, entrepreneurs and institutional investors. The group is also active in Corporate Finance, Private Equity, Real Estate and Fund Services.
Corporate Members
Logitech helps all people pursue their passions and is committed to doing so in a way that is good for people and the planet.
We design hardware and software solutions that help businesses thrive and bring people together when working, creating, gaming and streaming.
Brands of Logitech include Logitech, Logitech G, Streamlabs and Ultimate Ears.
Network Partners
Alliance is Western Switzerland's technological innovation platform. Alliance supports companies in their strategic innovation thinking, from needs analysis to implementing and setting up collaborative projects with academia.
Hosted at EPFL, our innovation mentors give you privileged access to research labs and innovation ecosystem, as well as public funding, including Innosuisse grants.
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Brainforest is the world’s first Venture Platform dedicated to advancing forests and biodiversity ventures globally. With a mission to enable the restoration and regeneration of 20 million hectares of biodiverse forests by 2030, Brainforest combines a hands-on acceleration process with innovative financial support. The platform connects experts, startups, and mission-driven funders to drive impactful solutions for a thriving planet.
Join us at the HackSummit, where 1,000+ Climate Founders, Funders and Operators meet under 1 roof for 2 explosive days of debates, networking and dealmaking. Meet with industry insiders from across Vaud, Switzerland, Europe and around the world as the ClimateTech ecosystem meets in Lausanne on May 15-16th.