(Creative Applications in Thermal Capture & Harvesting)
In the global race toward decarbonization, industrial energy efficiency has become one of the most powerful levers for change. Every year, trillions of kilowatt-hours of energy are lost as waste heat — from furnaces, manufacturing lines, chemical plants, data centers, and even everyday infrastructure. This wasted energy is not only an environmental burden but also a massive untapped opportunity.
The CATCH Award — Creative Applications in Thermal Capture & Harvesting — is a competition born within the Heat2Battery project, a EIC Pathfinder initiative developing a breakthrough thermal battery technology; unlike traditional systems, this new platform doesn’t just store heat — it uses thermal energy itself to drive its charge, enabling new paradigms for energy storage, waste heat recovery, and distributed power generation.
The competition is open to the academic community: participants will be able to test themselves in one of the most fascinating fields of innovation of our time. What’s more, the best proposal will receive a prize which will include financial, as well as educational and scientific benefits!
Through this competition, which was born in the scope of an open innovation approach, we are seeking creative, unconventional, and impactful applications for the Heat2Battery technology. Your task, as a partecipant to the competition, is to identify new sources or uses of thermal energy — especially low-quality heat (low-temperature, hard-to-convert heat) — and imagine how this technology could turn them into valuable energy assets.
Forget the obvious. Think of what was once impossible.
Use this form to register to the CATCH competition. Rules, deadlines, proposal templates are available in this webpage. Upon registration, you will be notified with a confirmation email.
The CATCH Award is open to the academic community — including university students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, professors, and academic research teams — who are passionate about innovation in clean energy, sustainability, and technology transfer.
Whether you’re conducting research, teaching, or exploring an idea beyond the lab, this competition invites you to connect scientific creativity with real-world potential.
If you think that you have a great idea and you feel that you are ready to challenge conventions and imagine new ways to harvest heat — this is your opportunity.
Participating in the CATCH competition means joining a European movement redefining the boundaries of thermal energy use.
What’s in it for you:
By participating, you contribute to the global mission of energy efficiency, circularity, and decarbonization — and join the pioneers turning waste heat into a new source of power.
Learn more about the CATCH competition through the video recording of the competition’s launch event.
The Heat2Battery project is developing a next-generation thermal battery that bridges the gap between heat and electricity.
This unique solid-state system can store and release energy directly from thermal input, enabling industries to recover waste heat and use it as a renewable, on-site energy source.
By integrating advanced materials, high-temperature electrochemistry, and system engineering, Heat2Battery aims to unlock a new class of energy storage solutions capable of supporting the decarbonization of multiple sectors — from steel and chemicals to food, glass, and beyond.
Learn more about the project here.
Use this form to register to the CATCH competition. Rules, deadlines, proposal templates are available in this webpage. Upon registration, you will be notified with a confirmation email.