2026 Nominations Window Opens for #21toWatch Innovation Awards: “Celebrating What’s New and Amplifying What’s Next”

By Tech East 4 minute read

We are delighted to announce that the 2026 nominations/applications window for the #21toWatch innovation awards is now open.

Now into its 8th year, the 2026 awards promise to be as inspiring and catalytic as ever judging by calibre of the early entries. These include Omer Nivron, an associate researcher at the University of Cambridge, and startups HotHouse [corr] Therapeutics and Kodiaq Technologies:

Each of these entrants brings together science-based intelligence with technology:

Omer has been nominated in the ‘People’ category for his outstanding work on artificial intelligence (AI) for climate risk. As the co-founder of Ötzi, he is focused on tackling one of the finance industry’s biggest blind spots: the actual cost of climate risk.

Omer says: “We’ve built the first physics-informed AI model generating risk forecasts out to 2050, which are not only more accurate than the competition but also faster and radically more cost-effective. For me, this isn’t just about better pricing for insurers; it’s about a more resilient future – and that’s the social impact that drives this mission.”

Nominated in the ‘Company’ category, HotHouse Therapeutics is a unique plug-and-play platform company currently deploying into adjuvants and disrupting the vaccine industry with its AI-driven, carbon-positive drug discovery and plant-based engineering.

Working at the intersection of technology and nature, the company uses AI to optimise the plants before creating novel molecules and hard-to-source adjuvants – delivering breakthrough medicines and next-generation therapeutics sustainably and at scale with world class expertise.

With an eye on the planet as well as on patients, HotHouse Therapeutics’ eco-friendly production ensures a resilient, long-term supply of these scarce, in-demand complex compounds, without stripping trees or the ecosystem.

CEO Dr David Sheppard told us: “HotHouse Therapeutics has been in stealth mode since its launch in July 2024 and now seems the perfect time to appear on the #21toWatch list as we exit stealth and embark on our next funding round.”

Kodiaq Technologies, meanwhile, is revolutionising energy storage with cutting-edge metal-free electrolytes. Nominated in the ‘Thing’ category, these organic electrolytes are designed to enhance the efficiency, sustainability and reliability of long duration energy storage technologies.

The game-changing technology has been invented by co-founders Professor Oren Scherman, Director of the Melville Lab at the University of Cambridge, and Dr Kamil Sokolowski, CTO at Kodiaq and expert in electron transfer and energy storage technologies. A third co-founder and Executive Chairman at Kodiaq, Dr David Fyfe – a recipient of Institute of Physics Gold Medal – is the former executive chair of Cambridge Display Technology, which listed on Nasdaq in 2004 before it was acquired by Sumitomo Chemical in 2007 for approximately $285million.

Dr Fyfe said: “Kodiaq Technologies is developing for commercialisation metal-free organic chemistries for redox flow batteries – that is, electrolytes with significantly higher energy density than the current technology, vanadium. This substantially enhances the return on investment in energy storage and, in turn, makes wind and solar investments more attractive.”

#21toWatch creator, Faye Holland, now Managing Partner at Cambridge Management Consulting, said: “#21toWatch is not just about celebrating what’s new, it’s about amplifying what’s next. Each year, #21towatch proves that innovation isn’t confined to big cities or established players, it comes from unexpected places, from individuals and teams willing to think differently.

“For 2026, we’re not just spotlighting innovation; we’re demonstrating that visibility and recognition are essential catalysts for growth in our region and beyond.”

#21toWatch is a dedicated campaign to showcase, highlight and recognise the best of entrepreneurship across Cambridge and the East of England, celebrating seven standout people, seven companies and seven innovations every year. Past winners include Riverlane, Unitary, VividQ, Paragraf, Broken Strong BioSciences, Xampla, Sano Genetics, SATAVIA, CMR Surgical, Colorifix, Flusso, Porotech, Cambridge Gan Devices and DioSynVax.

You can make your nomination or submission for #21toWatch and find out more about the programme at https://www.21towatch.com/ and by following #21toWatch on social media.

Closing date for submissions is 9th January 2026, and the shortlist will be announced in February. A panel of independent judges will determine the Top21 who will be unveiled at the annual awards event on 5th March 2026.

Last Year’s #21toWatch Top21.2025 were: Arkoprovo Paul (Oltera), Austin Reed (IntercepTx), Dr. Ethan Waisberg, Jonathan Fisher (Peter), Lucy Jung (LYEONS Neurotech), Ping Lin Yeap, Raifa Al Maamari, Bioscopic, BioTryp Therapeutics, Cellestial Health, clock.bio, Evoralis, Nanomation, TRIMTECH Therapeutics, AllFocal Optics, Lambda Agri, Prospectral, FinCrime Dynamics, Reclinker, VyperCore, Wave Photonics.