Finalists announced for the Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award

The finalists for the 2026 Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award have been announced. Guadaluna Chaer of LUXEED Robotics, Lídia Kuti of Smobya and Gilad Regev of Kora will compete in the final of the award’s eighth edition in October. This prestigious distinction recognises pioneers in sustainability. It supports innovators who contribute to the circular transition towards a sustainable world with courage and vision, in areas ranging from food and waste to energy, spatial planning and more conscious living.

Award for sustainability innovation

The Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award is an initiative of the Brightlands innovation campuses and is dedicated to sustainability pioneer Marc Cornelissen. As early as the 1990s, he devoted himself to combating the impact of climate change on the polar regions, spending many years conducting expeditions and climate research. He died in a tragic accident during his final expedition. The award has since grown into a prestigious distinction. The jury selected the three finalists from six nominated candidates, all of whom demonstrated courage, creativity and perseverance in their pitches.

Radically transforming weed control

Finalist LUXEED is developing AI-powered lasers that precisely locate and eliminate weeds by burning them. With LUXEED, Guadaluna is addressing the problem that stricter herbicide regulations and labour shortages are leaving farmers with fewer tools to control weeds. LUXEED distinguishes itself primarily through its software. From camera image to laser shot, the entire AI control system has been developed in-house and tailored to farmers’ requirements for laser-based weed control. According to finalist Guadaluna, this makes the innovation faster, more effective and more precise than existing alternatives. And while other high-tech solutions are available only to large agricultural businesses, LUXEED aims to make the technology accessible to small and medium-sized farmers.

Turning food waste into an alternative to animal leather and plastic

Finalist Smobya is a biotech startup offering a new alternative to textiles and leather. With Smobya, Lídia is addressing what she sees as the materials market’s continuing dependence on plastics and animal-based materials, which cause extensive pollution during production, use and at the end of their life cycle. Smobya is a precision-fermentation platform that develops bacterial nanocellulose as a circular performance material, grown using regional agri-food waste streams such as molasses and potato peels. The material is positioned as a replacement for petroleum- and animal-based materials in applications including battery separators, aerogels and tissue-regeneration membranes.

Personal carbon credits to reduce CO₂ emissions

Kora aims to create an economy that rewards the avoidance of CO₂ emissions. According to an IPCC estimate, 40% to 70% of the climate problem is related to behaviour, while people continue to make the same convenient choices every day. Existing carbon markets penalise this behaviour while ignoring positive choices. According to finalist Gilad Regev, Kora turns this model on its head. The platform automatically detects when someone cycles instead of driving and immediately rewards this behaviour with KORA tokens, which can be redeemed with brand partners. The underlying carbon units are being developed in partnership with the University of Oxford as verified personal carbon credits. Gilad’s vision is that behaviour changes when something becomes understandable, profitable and social. And that is precisely what he is working to achieve with Kora.

Winner to be selected during final on 14 October

On 14 October, the jury will decide who wins the award during a pitch final at the Brightlands Data & AI Campus in Heerlen. The winner will follow in the footsteps of Anirudh Rajesh