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Danish startup wins AmCham EU Youth Entrepreneurship Award

AmCham EU and JA Europe are pleased to announce that COOL4SEA, a Danish start-up, is the winner of the 2015 AmCham EU Youth Entrepreneurship Award. COOL4SEA, founded by JA alumni, has developed innovative technology to harness energy from heat on-board ships so it can be used for cooling, resulting in impressive environmental and economic benefits for the shipping industry. The jury was impressed not only with the innovative concept, but with the significant technical and engineering skills required to develop such technology. Organized in collaboration with JA Europe, the award aims to showcase young people with entrepreneurial talent. 

The award will be formally presented to Daniel Buhl Nielsen and Nicolai Schjerning Lundsgaard, founders of COOL4SEA, by Lowri Evans, Director General of DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) at the European Commission and Christian Morales, Vice-President, EMEA, Intel and Chair of the AmCham EU Executive Council on Tuesday, 17 November 2015 at the AmCham EU Agenda for Action Scorecard 2015 launch in Brussels. 

“Winning the AmCham EU Youth Entrepreneurship Award, in collaboration with JA Europe, is an affirming moment for us here at COOL4SEA. We have been working in maritime engineering for a number of years and the need for sustainable cooling technology onboard ships became apparent to us from the very early days. We are delighted that the jury agreed! We are particularly looking forward to receiving mentorship from a number of AmCham EU’s European CEOs. We have no doubt that their guidance will be invaluable at this early stage in our business,” stated Nicolai Schjerning Lundsgaard, COOL4SEA Co-Founder.

“COOL4SEA impressed the jury by not only developing this technology, but also by displaying an immense in-depth knowledge of the science behind it. As maritime engineers, the founders of COOL4SEA have applied their know-how not only to the fiscal challenges facing the industry, but also to developing creative solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of the maritime industry. We are really delighted to be able to offer them the award and, more importantly, significant mentorship from our European CEOs. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for COOL4SEA,” stated Susan Danger, Managing Director, AmCham EU.

Caroline Jenner, CEO at JA Europe, shared: “We are thrilled that COOL4SEA won this award and congratulate AMCHAM EU for shining the spotlight on their fantastic achievement. They are an example of how important it is to combine sophisticated technical studies with entrepreneurship education that sharpens their innovation skills, team work and business acumen. These students completed the JA Start Up Program as part of their studies—a full-year scheme we are running in more than 100 universities across 20 countries. We’re committed to equipping young people like Daniel and Nicolai with the skills they need to start a business or get a job.” 

The jury selecting the winner was comprised of: John Breidenstine, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs and Senior Commercial Officer for Europe, US Mission to the EU; Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General, DG Environment, European Commission; Susan Danger, Managing Director, AmCham EU; Ryan Heath, Senior Correspondent, Politico Europe and Julian Nebreda, President, AES Europe.

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About AmCham EU

AmCham EU (www.amchameu.eu) speaks for American companies committed to Europe on trade, investment and competitiveness issues. It aims to ensure a growth-orientated business and investment climate in Europe. AmCham EU facilitates the resolution of transatlantic issues that impact business and plays a role in creating better understanding of EU and US positions on business matters.

About JA Europe

JA Europe (www.jaeurope.org) is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy, reaching 3.5 million students in 39 countries in 2015. It was founded in 2001 when Young Enterprise Europe and Junior Achievement International Europe merged. JA works with the education and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and competences they will need to succeed in a global economy. JA’s activities have been endorsed as best practice by the European Commission. JA Europe is the European Regional Operating Centre for JA Worldwide®.

For further information, please contact:

Anna McNally,
AmCham EU Communications Director
+32 (0)2 289 10 16
anna.mcnally@amchameu.eu 

Marie Hargitt
JA Europe Digital Communications Officer
+32 (0)2 893 4436
marie@jaeurope.org