Amazon opens applications for the third edition of its climate tech accelerator program
Amazon just opened applications for the third edition of the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator (ASA), its accelerator program designed for climate tech startups in Europe and the United Kingdom. And the timing could not be more strategic.
With the deadline closing on July 10, 2026, the program arrives at a moment when the race toward decarbonization has moved beyond annual report talking points and become a real operational priority for the biggest companies in the world.
The Amazon Sustainability Accelerator goes well beyond what most accelerator programs offer. Instead of generic mentorship and fancy certificates, what is on the table is direct access to Amazon operations, contact with the people who actually make decisions, and at the end of eight weeks, a real shot at piloting a solution inside the infrastructure of one of the largest companies on the planet — all without giving up any equity.
Sounds too good to be true. But the numbers from previous editions show the program delivers on its promises, and the stories from those who have been through it tell that better than any pitch deck. 🚀
What is behind the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator
The Amazon Sustainability Accelerator is an initiative built to connect startups and scaleups directly with Amazon operations, creating real bridges between what these companies develop and what the tech giant needs to solve within its own facilities. The program is run in collaboration with Founders Intelligence, an innovation strategy consultancy that is part of Accenture, pairing founders with senior leaders and sustainability experts throughout an intensive eight-week engagement.
This changes the game significantly, because the end goal is not just learning or networking. It is executing something concrete within a real operational supply chain, with global scale and complexity that very few startups would have access to otherwise. For Amazon, reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 demands more than ambition — it demands proven technology deployed at scale.
During the eight weeks of the program, selected startups go through an immersive journey that combines technical development, access to operational data, and direct contact with decision-makers inside Amazon. The company’s internal teams actively participate in sessions, present real challenges they are facing, and collaborate with startups to find paths that can be tested while the program is still running.
As Vishnupriya Gupta, the ASA climate tech program lead, put it: founders at this stage do not need another mentorship program. They need access to decision-makers, to data, and to a clear answer. That is exactly what eight weeks with Amazon operations teams deliver.
Another point worth highlighting is the zero-equity model. In many corporate accelerators, the trade-off for access and support is a slice of the company. Here, that does not happen. Startups enter, participate, access resources, and leave with the same ownership structure they had before. This is especially relevant for companies still building their foundation and needing to preserve room for future investment rounds. 🌱
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The numbers that prove the program delivers
Since the program launched in 2024, 28 startups have been selected from a pool of more than 1,100 applicants. Amazon has already funded more than $3 million in equity-free pilots, distributed across 16 different projects. These are not just vanity metrics — they show the program turns climate ambition into operational reality.
Startups from the first two cohorts are already piloting energy, water, and waste solutions across Amazon European fulfillment network. Companies like Shayp, Cartesian, Solaq, and Over Easy Solar already have early results that are informing decisions about broader deployment.
Gregoire De Hemptinne, CEO and co-founder of Shayp, an AI-powered water monitoring company that participated in the program in 2025, is straightforward about the experience: the ASA truly delivers. According to him, the team was able to present to the right people and build a pilot together, with clear information about what needed to happen at each stage.
The results from Shayp speak for themselves. The company secured a contract covering 60 facilities, with a target of 15% water consumption reduction per building. Meanwhile, Solaq launched a pilot that produces a thousand liters of drinking water from ambient air daily. Having Amazon as a reference client completely changes the conversation with other potential corporate customers, especially in sectors where real-world proof of concept is still the biggest barrier to adopting new solutions. 💡
Who can apply and what Amazon is looking for
Applicants must be companies with a Technology Readiness Level of 8 or higher (TRL 8+), which means the technology has already moved past the prototype phase and been proven under real-world conditions. Startups also need to have existing or planned operations in Europe.
Amazon also accepts applications from startups with other technologies that can directly reduce carbon emissions, water use, or biodiversity loss across its operations. This broad scope reflects the complexity of the challenge and the diversity of fronts the company needs to cover to hit its net-zero goal by 2040.
This year’s edition has a special focus on building decarbonization, which is considered one of the most powerful levers on the journey to net zero. As Brad Swartz, Amazon energy lead for operations sustainability in Europe, pointed out, decarbonizing buildings is one of the biggest tools available to reach the 2040 target.
Six priority areas in building decarbonization
With that focus in mind, the program is seeking applications in six key areas:
- Advanced energy storage
- High-efficiency renewable generation with a small physical footprint
- High-performance HVAC technologies and building envelopes
- AI-powered energy management, including digital twins, integrated controls, and real-time analytics
- Grid-interactive buildings, functioning as virtual power plants
- DC microgrids for new construction
Each of these areas represents a real operational challenge that Amazon faces daily across its hundreds of facilities spread throughout Europe. And precisely because these are real challenges, solutions tested in the program have the potential to scale quickly if they prove their value during the pilot. 🔋
Water focus: efficiency, circularity, and replenishment
The program also includes a dedicated water management track, which debuted in the 2025 edition and returns expanded this year. According to Liya Elizabeth Jacob, Amazon water lead for operations sustainability in Europe, opening this second water-focused track within the climate tech cohort builds on a strong launch in 2025.
For this edition, Amazon is looking for innovators in the following areas:
- Scalable low-flow or zero-water fixture solutions
- Water circularity systems that capture and reuse rainwater and greywater
- Technologies that improve the economic viability of on-site water management
- Replenishment solutions in regions where Amazon operates, helping utilities reduce losses, protect watersheds, and enable recycled water distribution
Water is an increasingly critical resource in the operations of any company with extensive physical presence, and Amazon is clearly investing to make its facilities more resilient and efficient in this regard. 💧
Biodiversity: ecological monitoring and improvement at scale
One track that really stands out is biodiversity. Amazon operates hundreds of facilities across Europe, each surrounded by unique ecosystems, and the company wants to find solutions that help monitor and improve the ecological performance of these areas at scale.
As Richard Charlesworth, Amazon biodiversity lead for sustainability in Europe, explained, the search is for companies that can work with remote sensing, AI-powered habitat assessment, and soil health tracking.
Specific areas of interest include:
- Automated habitat condition assessment
- Predictive analytics and early warning systems
- Soil health and carbon monitoring
- Species and biodiversity tracking
- Water and air quality measurement
This is an area gaining traction in the climate tech market and where there is still plenty of room for innovation. Startups that can offer affordable ecological monitoring solutions that work across different types of facilities have a real opportunity to scale quickly through the program. 🌿
Why decarbonization has become a corporate urgency
Decarbonization has shifted from being a competitive differentiator to a market requirement. Regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in Europe require large companies to report and reduce their emissions in increasingly detailed ways, which creates enormous demand for tools, processes, and solutions that help operationalize this transition.
Amazon, which has a public commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2040 through the Climate Pledge, is under constant pressure to advance in this direction across every front of its business. The accelerator program is a visible and fundamental part of that strategy.
For climate tech startups, this context represents a window of opportunity that rarely opens with this much clarity. Corporations need solutions, have the budget for them, and are willing to test new approaches because the cost of inaction is becoming higher than the risk of innovating. The competition now is over who has the best solution for a problem that everyone already agrees on.
What sets this program apart from other accelerators
The biggest differentiator of the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator is the compression of the corporate sales cycle. For climate tech startups, getting a product to a large-scale pilot inside a global organization can take years of presentations, meetings, and navigating complex bureaucratic structures. The program was built precisely to eliminate that barrier.
In eight weeks, startups go through the entire process that would normally take months or even years: identifying the right stakeholders, technical alignment, scope definition, and approval for a real pilot. At the end, what is at stake is not a participation certificate, but rather the concrete possibility of a fully funded pilot within Amazon operations.
This direct access to operations teams, real data, and decision-makers is something no amount of money can buy on the open market. It is the kind of advantage that can define a startup’s trajectory during its most critical growth years.
Amazon understands it will not solve the climate challenge alone, and the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator is a practical expression of that awareness. By bringing startups from outside into its ecosystem, the company accelerates the adoption of innovations that would take much longer to develop internally, while also strengthening a sustainability ecosystem that benefits the entire sector.
Applications are open until July 10, 2026 and represent the gateway for anyone looking to turn climate technology into real operational impact, at the scale the planet needs. 🌍
