Thirty early-stage low carbon businesses have embarked on a programme which will see two-thirds of them receive development funding of up to €10,000 (£8,000).
The Climate-KIC Accelerator programme is being by Innovation Birmingham and includes a structured programme of support and office space.
Twenty of the business are Midlands-based, with a further 10 joining the scheme from Ireland and Europe, and they encompass many types of low carbon activity including retrofitting, water management, health and wellbeing, and applied data.
During stage one, the entrepreneurs will undergo coaching and mentoring and have access to the co-working facilities at the Innovation Birmingham Campus on Birmingham Science Park Aston.
A second stage starting in July will see two-thirds of the businesses eligible for further development of their products and able to access the grants.
Ten businesses will be selected for stage three, four of which will win the opportunity to attend Global Entrepreneurship Week in November which is being held in Silicon Valley, the home of tech companies such as Google and Facebook.
Katharine Fuller, Innovation Birmingham's senior project manager for EU Projects, said: "We are really pleased with the quality and variety of this year's cohort.
"One of our main objectives this year was to expand the Accelerator to more early-stage low carbon businesses in the West Midlands and Ireland and the strong interest has helped us to achieve that.
"We are confident that the programme will enable many of these businesses to scale-up in an efficient, sustainable way and are genuinely excited to be helping them on their journey."
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