German team wins 1st prize at contest

A project from The Botree Cycle, an R&D and industrialization service provider for recycling technology and equipment that processes spent lithium-ion batteries, won the first prize at the finals of the 7th China (Shenzhen) Innovation & Entrepreneurship International Competition, which concluded in Longgang District on Thursday.

The project of a team from Munich, Germany won the first prize of 750,000 yuan (US$105,600) in cash and 1 million yuan in entrepreneurial subsidies.

Contestants pose for a photo during the finals of the 7th China (Shenzhen) Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Competition, which concluded in Longgang District on Thursday. A project from a German team on spent lithium-ion battery recycling technology won the first prize of 750,000 yuan (US$103,600) plus 1 million yuan in entrepreneurial subsidies. Courtesy of the city’s human resources authority

Second-prize winners, all from the Toronto Contest Region, included the “VoxCell BioInnovation” project, in the biological medicine and health category, as well as the “Easy-Logic Technology” project and the “Research and Industrialization of Advanced Packaging Materials” project, both in the category of new-generation electronic information.

A total of 21 projects, selected through finals in seven major industry categories in Shenzhen on Monday and Tuesday, participated in the overall finals Thursday.

The seven categories by industry included new-generation electronic information, digital and fashion, high-end equipment manufacturing, green and low carbon, new materials, biomedicine and health, as well as marine economy.

According to the organizers, a total of 3,265 high-quality projects around the world signed up for the competition since it was initiated in August last year. These projects hailed from 14 contest sites in 13 countries and regions.

A total of 2,768 of them successfully qualified as entrants. Nearly 40% of the projects included someone with a doctoral degree or above, and over 60% included foreigners, according to the organizers.

Wu Jianping, a member of the judging panel and a professor from Tsinghua University, thought the projects that made it to the finals were of high-quality. The projects covered key areas of development such as semiconductors, green and low-carbon technologies, and new materials, which align with the current and future direction of industrial development in Shenzhen.

During the final competition period from April 12 to 18, the organizers hosted a series of “Fly With Shenzhen” events aimed at increasing international entrepreneurial teams’ understanding of the urban landscape and business environment of Shenzhen. They included policy promotion, city tours, visits to enterprises and research institutions, and investment matchmaking services.

Since its inception in 2016, the competition has witnessed nearly 200 projects reach cooperation agreements with Shenzhen, 60 projects settle in the city, and more than 100 overseas high-end professionals realize their innovation dreams in Shenzhen.

Nearly 50 projects have signed tentative agreements to settle in the city since the launch of this year’s competition, and two projects have registered companies in Shenzhen.