The preliminary jury for Klever Birne 2026 has selected nine finalists, who will present their projects to the public and a panel of expert judges on 10 September 2026.
For the first time this year, a school prize is being awarded to general education schools in the Kleve district – sponsored by FLUXANA GmbH & Co. KG and Omexom Smart Technologies GmbH. Two schools have reached the final: St. Antonius Hau Confessional Primary School, with its ‘Clever Climate Detectives’, and a Year 6 class at Kevelaer Comprehensive School, which produced a sustainable shampoo as part of their lessons.
The remaining seven finalists
- Holger Erlenwein with the AI-powered ‘Arboraneum’ platform for digital forest monitoring
- Sophie Niegsch and Christoph Schmidl, who aim to provide an autonomous solution for clean fields using drones with ‘HawcAI’
- Yannik Cymek and Karin Erdmann with ‘Keyju’ – an app for home furnishings and renovations that combines digital shopping with local retailers
- Tiergarten Kleve e.V. and their plan to create a near-natural habitat for servals
- Clemens Giesen, who has been restoring furniture for around 40 years, giving it a new lease of life
- the start-up CleanTech.NRW with an environmentally friendly method for separating oil and water using a bionically inspired oil skimmer and an innovative technical textile
- Eddy Nakaana and his digital sustainability platform ‘Tschüss’ for marketing discounted food and other goods.
Anyone wishing to find out more is warmly invited to the awards ceremony on 10 September 2026. At 6.00 pm, the top nine finalists will pitch their ideas for sustainable initiatives in Kleve, in the canteen on the HSRW campus. It’s not just the jury who will be deciding – you too can play an active part in choosing which idea deserves the audience award.