Shell Unveils Global Ambition to Help Inspire Entrepreneurs to Unearth Cleaner and Smarter Energy Ideas for the Future

LONDON, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Royal Dutch Shell's #makethefuture initiative is aimed at inspiring the development of clean energy solutions by supporting some of the world's smartest entrepreneurs and their bright energy ideas into action  

Shell today celebrates its global initiative, #makethefuture, designed to inspire change through entrepreneurialism to help tackle the challenge of producing more and cleaner energy.

Shell's support of entrepreneurialism is being unveiled at Make the Future London, a festival of ideas and innovation at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the company's response to the global societal challenge to reduce emissions and increase access to affordable energy.

The four-day festival showcases the ingenuity of entrepreneurs, supported through Shell LiveWIRE and Shell Springboard. With a 34 year heritage, Shell LiveWIRE has supported 6,200 entrepreneurs and invested globally US$4.3 million in 2015 to accelerate the development of their enterprising ideas.

Fifty of the world's smartest entrepreneurs who are currently helping communities across the world with solutions to gain access to affordable and cleaner energy will take centre stage at Make the Future London. Through virtual reality and hands-on science experiments, visitors will be able to experience a glimpse of the technologies first hand, including wind turbines harnessing the air of passing cars; light powered by gravity and meals cooked using recycled coffee waste.

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said: "One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is how to produce more energy for economic growth, while significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Collaboration and entrepreneurialism are paramount to finding solutions to meet these challenges, which are the cornerstones of our #makethefuture campaign."

Other technologies taking centre stage at the festival include the globally renowned Shell Eco-marathon, which arrives in London for the first time in 30 years.

Approximately 200 student teams from Europe and Asia will compete on a specially designed track around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to see how far their eco-friendly cars can travel on a single litre of fuel, with the current record standing at 3,771km.

Malena Cutuli, Global Head of Integrated Brand Communications at Shell, said: "Shell recognises that some of the best ideas come from outside our business, which is why we are helping some of the brightest innovators in the world to accelerate the development of their bright energy ideas. Today we are proud to celebrate our support of entrepreneurs through our #makethefuture campaign, which comes to life at Make the Future London. People will be able to see, feel and really get to grips with some of the brightest energy ideas from around the world, created by inspirational young entrepreneurs and really immerse themselves in the conversation around the global energy future."