Deadline: October 1, 2025
Applications are open for the Elsevier Foundation Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge 2026. The Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge is one of the Elsevier Foundation’s flagship partnerships. Together with Elsevier’s Chemistry journals, the Elsevier Foundation provides funding of $25,000 USD for 2 winning projects per year, implementing green & sustainable chemistry solutions in the Global South – advancing both Climate Action (SDG 13) and Gender Equity (SDG 5).
Climate change is the most important challenges affecting the future of our planet as underscored by the latest intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. The need for sustainable ideas to tackle global issues is now pressing than ever, and chemistry can play a key role in finding practical solutions to urgent challenges, advancing the achievement of the UN SDG agenda.
Chemical sciences play a critical role in developing a sustainable future: whether it’s CO2 reduction and utilization, cleaner production, energy conversion and storage, entire lifecycles of chemical products, or waste reduction. Over the years, the Challenge has demonstrated excellent outreach in low- and middle- income countries and many winning projects that make a difference for local communities.
Prize
- The winning projects will receive a prize of $25,000 each. The winners will be announced at the 10th Elsevier Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference (18-20 May, 2026) in Dresden, Germany.
Eligibility
- Open to individuals and organizations whose projects use green and sustainable chemistry solutions to tackle some of the developing world’s greatest sustainability challenges.
Projects will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
- The proposal clearly describes the urgency of the problem.
- The project utilizes innovative green and sustainable chemistry and chemical sciences approach.
- The project is replicable, scalable, sustainable (make sure to specify why), and sets a benchmark for innovation – new ideas or concepts in development will be given preference over more advanced projects.
- The proposal highlights the novelty of your approach and gives a short literature overview of what has been done before, both by you and others.
- The project is applicable in and suitable for developing countries. Describe the project’s social impact on local communities, including gender equality either in design or implementation.
- The project must have an impactful gender component, clearly describing the sex/gender dimensions of the research.
- Include an implementation plan of the project.
- The project must also disclose a full and detailed budget plan in USD highlighting any funding already raised and plans to close any funding gap between the prize money of USD 25,000 and your total budget costs.
Application
Proposals must be submitted by October 1, 2025. A panel of expert reviewers will evaluate all submissions and select a shortlist of proposals to advance to the judging phase. The list of the shortlisted proposals will be announced by October 30, 2025.
For more information, visit Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge.
