Brussels, 17 June 2018 – The American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) and Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe) are delighted to announce that Bioo, a Spanish start-up, is the winner of the sixth AmCham EU Youth Entrepreneurship Award. Bioo created a unique system to generate electricity from plants in a sustainable way. With this technology, the start-up develops a range of applications, such as biological batteries or WiFi connection terminals.

The AmCham EU Youth Entrepreneurship Award, organised in collaboration with JA Europe, aims to showcase young people with entrepreneurial talent. It is a symbol of American companies’ support for jobs, growth and innovation as well as their commitment to the prosperity of Europe.

Pablo Vidarte, CEO, Bioo, stated: ‘With this award, we will be able to invest in research and development and continue to create the next generation of our bio-reactors. We hope to continue to reach new markets across Europe and in the rest of the world.’ Bioo will also receive significant mentorship from a number of European CEOs from AmCham EU’s Executive Council. ‘It is a fantastic opportunity to receive advice from such a distinguished group of business leaders who can help us grow and develop,’ Pablo Vidarte added.

Susan Danger, CEO, AmCham EU, said: ‘Not only was I impressed by Bioo’s innovative technology, but also truly inspired by their drive to make business more sustainable. We are proud to support young and talented entrepreneurs. They are the future of the European economy.’

Caroline Jenner, CEO, JA Europe, commented: ‘We are thrilled to see that more and more young European entrepreneurs like Pablo are dedicated to tackling societal challenges. JA Europe, AmCham EU and its members, are committed to empowering young entrepreneurs and ensuring that together, we can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. The team behind Bioo are a fine example of sustainability in action.’

Other shortlisted start-ups included GrowGreen from Cyprus and Liight from Spain.

The jury selecting the winner was comprised of: Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General for Environment, European Commission; Susan Danger, CEO, AmCham EU ; Benjamin Fox, Reporter, EurActiv; Adam Shub, Chargé d’Affaires, US Mission to the EU; Mark Green, President for EMEA and CIS, AES; and Rudolf Ertl, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, EMEA, Gilead Sciences.

To access photos from the event, please click here.

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About AmCham EU

AmCham EU speaks for American companies committed to Europe on trade, investment and competitiveness issues. It aims to ensure a growth-orientated business and investment climate in Europe. AmCham EU facilitates the resolution of transatlantic issues that impact business and plays a role in creating better understanding of EU and US positions on business matters. Aggregate US investment in Europe totalled more than €2 trillion in 2017, directly supports more than 4.7 million jobs in Europe, and generates billions of euros annually in income, trade and research and development.

About JA Europe

JA Europe is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy, reaching 3.6 million students in 40 countries in 2017. JA works with the education and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and competences they will need to succeed in a global economy. JA’s activities have been endorsed as best practice by the European Commission. JA Europe is the European Regional Operating Centre for JA Worldwide®.

For further information, please contact:

Thibaut L’Ortye
Senior Content Adviser, AmCham EU
TLO@amchameu.eu
+32 (0)494 82 53 85

Mathilde Poncelet

Policy & Communications Manager, JA Europe
mathilde@jaeurope.org