Klever Birne 2026 – Here are the finalists

The preliminary jury for the 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 will be awarded to general education schools in the Kleve district – sponsored by FLUXANA GmbH & Co. KG and Omexom Smart Technologies GmbH. Two schools are represented in the final round: St. Antonius Hau Confessional Primary School with the ‘Clever Climate Detectives’, and a Year 6 class from Kevelaer Comprehensive School, which produced a sustainable shampoo as part of their lessons.

The remaining seven finalists are

• Holger Erlenwein with the AI-powered ‘Arboraneum’ platform for digital forest monitoring
• Sophie Niegsch and Christoph Schmidl, who aim to offer “HawcAI”, an autonomous solution for clean fields using drones
• 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 its 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

Come along to the awards ceremony on 10 September 2026 at 6.00 pm in the canteen on the Kleve campus!

The top 9 will pitch their ideas for sustainable initiatives. It’s not just the jury who will be judging – you too can play an active part in deciding which idea deserves the audience award.