A group of companies including Salesforce, JetBlue Ventures and Qantas have launched what they call the Sustainable Aviation Challenge, a call for entrepreneurs to submit solutions that scale and commercialize innovations in sustainable aviation, Salesforce announced Thursday.
The companies, which also include Airbus, Boom Supersonic, Breakthrough Energy, Deloitte and World Energy, are working with the First Movers Coalition, a joint initiative launched in 2021 between the World Economic Forum and the U.S. Department of State, and UpLink, the “open innovation platform” of the WEF. Salesforce in 2021 joined FMC as a founding member company.
The challenge is hosted on UpLink with support from Deloitte and Salesforce, and proposals to help decarbonize air travel will be accepted through Oct. 2. Sustainable aviation fuel innovations are one example of what the group is looking for, but “the challenge also invites solutions beyond fuel alternatives, like hydrogen and batteries, and innovations in feedstock, engineering, and physical and market infrastructure,” according to Salesforce.
A list of “top innovators” will be announced later this year. Selected proposals will receive brand-building, visibility and peer-to-peer learning support from WEF and UpLink and will have the opportunity to collaborate with sustainable aviation leaders to support growth, commercialization and deployment efforts.
