Winners of the 8th PFR Pioneer School Announced
Innovation, Climatetech
💎 From energy efficiency and biodiversity credits to AI-powered water and microplastic monitoring, Poland’s next generation of climate founders has stepped into the spotlight. The final gala of the 8th edition of the PFR Pioneer School, organized by the Polish Development Fund (PFR) with Allegro as Strategic Partner and PFR Ventures as a knowledge partner, showcased eight teams building technologies designed to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.
The event brought together investors, corporate partners, scientists, and policymakers, underlining the growing importance of climatetech as both an economic opportunity and a strategic priority for Poland and Europe.
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Building founders, not just startups
Opening the event, Mariusz Jaszczuk, Vice President of PFR, Karolina Mitraszewska, CEO of PFR Ventures, and Marcin Kuśmierz, CEO of Allegro, emphasized the role of the Pioneer School as a long-term investment in entrepreneurial talent. Their message was reinforced by Michał Jaros, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology, who described the program as a foundation for “an innovative Poland built by founders who are not afraid to think globally.”
Unlike classic accelerators, the PFR Pioneer School focuses on turning individual innovators into cohesive founding teams, guiding them from early concepts to validated MVPs through months of mentoring, workshops, and international exposure.
Eight teams, eight approaches to climate impact
The 2025 edition focused entirely on climatetech, reflecting the sector’s rapid growth and strategic relevance. The finalist teams addressed challenges ranging from energy efficiency and emissions reduction to biodiversity and environmental compliance:
FlowIQ – an AI-driven platform optimizing energy consumption in water utilities, reducing pumping and aeration costs by double-digit percentages.
Baltic Jungle Lab – a Hardware-as-a-Service solution using modular, non-invasive sensors to detect microplastics in wastewater in real time, helping factories meet strict environmental regulations.
Devana – a system transforming ecological data into verified biodiversity credits for companies, banks, and landowners.
Ecopic – an AI tool that automatically calculates the carbon footprint of agricultural products and generates ESG-ready reports for agri-food companies.
Staylift – an AI-powered virtual receptionist for hotels, designed to reduce missed calls today and support CO₂ tracking across guest journeys in the future.
Reactive AI – a self-learning AI model that retains context across interactions while operating more securely and at lower cost.
Vata – a mobile app that analyzes smart meter data to identify appliance-level energy usage, predict failures, and help households reduce electricity bills.
CoSPEC – a secure AI system that automates technical IT tasks in isolated environments, enabling safe deployment of AI in enterprise infrastructure.
The winners
After jury deliberations, the following teams were recognized:
🏆 1st place: Baltic Jungle Lab (Sandra Zalas, Igor Veredyn)
🎖 Honourable mentions: Reactive AI and FlowIQ
📢 Audience Award: Vata
While only three teams received formal awards, organizers emphasized that all projects attracted strong interest from investors and industry partners, highlighting the depth and maturity of Poland’s emerging climatetech pipeline.
From local innovation to global ambition
A defining feature of the Pioneer School is its international dimension. Participants spent a dedicated week in Stockholm, engaging with the Nordic innovation ecosystem and gaining first-hand exposure to global market expectations. Combined with months of expert mentoring, this approach aims to ensure that solutions born in Poland are designed from day one with scalability and international deployment in mind.
The 8th edition demonstrated that Polish founders are no longer just catching up with global trends in climatetech — in many cases, they are actively shaping them.
Why this matters
Climatetech is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive and strategically important innovation sectors worldwide. By systematically developing founding teams, not just ideas, PFR’s Pioneer School is positioning Poland as a serious contributor to Europe’s green and technological transition.
For investors, corporates, and policymakers, the message from this year’s finale was clear: the next wave of climate-driven innovation in Central and Eastern Europe is already here — and it’s ready to scale.
Tags: Climatetech, Innovation
