Shell Unveils Global Ambition to Help Inspire Entrepreneurs to Unearth Cleaner and Smarter Energy Ideas for the Future

LONDON, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Royal Dutch Shell's #makethefuture initiative is aimed at inspiring the development of clean energy solutions by supporting some of the world's smartest entrepreneurs and their bright energy ideas into action  

Shell today celebrates its global initiative, #makethefuture, designed to inspire change through entrepreneurialism to help tackle the challenge of producing more and cleaner energy.

Shell's support of entrepreneurialism is being unveiled at Make the Future London, a festival of ideas and innovation at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the company's response to the global societal challenge to reduce emissions and increase access to affordable energy.

The four-day festival showcases the ingenuity of entrepreneurs, supported through Shell LiveWIRE and Shell Springboard. With a 34 year heritage, Shell LiveWIRE has supported 6,200 entrepreneurs and invested globally US$4.3 million in 2015 to accelerate the development of their enterprising ideas.

Fifty of the world's smartest entrepreneurs who are currently helping communities across the world with solutions to gain access to affordable and cleaner energy will take centre stage at Make the Future London. Through virtual reality and hands-on science experiments, visitors will be able to experience a glimpse of the technologies first hand, including wind turbines harnessing the air of passing cars; light powered by gravity and meals cooked using recycled coffee waste.

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said: "One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is how to produce more energy for economic growth, while significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Collaboration and entrepreneurialism are paramount to finding solutions to meet these challenges, which are the cornerstones of our #makethefuture campaign."

Other technologies taking centre stage at the festival include the globally renowned Shell Eco-marathon, which arrives in London for the first time in 30 years.

Approximately 200 student teams from Europe and Asia will compete on a specially designed track around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to see how far their eco-friendly cars can travel on a single litre of fuel, with the current record standing at 3,771km.

Malena Cutuli, Global Head of Integrated Brand Communications at Shell, said: "Shell recognises that some of the best ideas come from outside our business, which is why we are helping some of the brightest innovators in the world to accelerate the development of their bright energy ideas. Today we are proud to celebrate our support of entrepreneurs through our #makethefuture campaign, which comes to life at Make the Future London. People will be able to see, feel and really get to grips with some of the brightest energy ideas from around the world, created by inspirational young entrepreneurs and really immerse themselves in the conversation around the global energy future."

Some of the entrepreneurs featuring at London's iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from June 30 to July 3 include:

• Gravity Light - produces a lighting system that uses the force of gravity from a weight
• bio-bean - deploys an industrialised process to recycle waste coffee grounds into advanced biofuels
• Pavegen - developed paving slabs to convert energy from people's footsteps into electrical power
• Capture Mobility - created hybrid wind turbines for harvesting solar and wind energy from roads
• Adaptavate - produces a biodegradable alternative to plasterboard to enhance sustainable housing

Tom Robinson, the entrepreneur behind Adaptavate, will also be the focus of one the festival's biggest brainstorms, known as the Shell #makethefuture Accelerator. The event, designed to take Adaptavate to the next level, will help Tom overcome his key business challenges, including scaling, manufacturing and resourcing, amongst an audience of entrepreneurs including Blaise Belville, Founder of Boiler Room and Eben Upton, Founder of Raspberry Pi.

Henrique Drumond from Insolar, recipient of last year's Shell #makethefuture Accelerator, said: "Access to energy is something most of us take for granted, yet in many parts of my hometown in Rio, the reality is very different. Through the collaboration with Shell I have been able to make my vision come true. I'm so excited that together we will light up the Santa Marta community, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, through the power of solar energy and most importantly, provide a lasting benefit to the local community."

Today's announcement of the global #makethefuture initiative also represents the culmination of several high-profile projects over the past two years to raise awareness of the energy challenge. In 2014 and 2015, in partnership with Shell LiveWIRE winner and entrepreneur Laurence Kemball-Cook from Pavegen, Shell installed the world's first player and solar powered football pitches in Rio de Janeiro and Lagos, Nigeria - the first with the help of global football icon Pelé and the second with global recording artist Akon.

The pitches are still providing the opportunity for hundreds of locals to play football in a safe and secure environment, and Pelé will be in attendance at Make the Future London.

To find out more about how Shell supports bright energy ideas visit https://makethefuture.shell.