Japan-based EnviroTech Rhinoflux has won the KPMG Global Tech Innovator for 2025.
Pitching to a packed audience and a panel of judges on Stage 6 at Web Summit in Lisbon, founder and CEO Alex Mazawa impressed with a vision to revolutionise clean energy and carbon capture through a breakthrough process called hydro chemical looping.
The technology enables compact, decentralised bioenergy plants capable of generating clean power while capturing CO2 with 99.9% purity.
The award was presented by Conor Moore, global leader of private enterprise at KPMG, who congratulated Rhinoflux on standing out among an international field of finalists.
Entrepreneurs from 21 countries pitched their startups in just three minutes each, representing the best of tech ecosystems from around the world.
Founded in Kyoto in 2024, Rhinoflux is developing scalable, modular carbon-capture and bioenergy systems that can be installed close to biomass sources such as farms and industrial sites – turning organic waste into clean electricity and negative-emission energy.
The company’s model aims to make carbon removal more practical and profitable, tackling the global challenges of renewable energy and decarbonisation.
Other winners on the day included Selection Lab from the Netherlands, which claimed the People’s Choice Award following a live audience vote for its AI-powered recruitment platform.
Ireland’s Akara Robotics took First Runner-Up, while India-based Step Out SportTech secured Second Runner-Up for its data-driven training technology.