A Kenyan clean energy company has earned global recognition after winning one of the world’s leading climate innovation awards.
LinQ Powr, a Nairobi-based climate technology company, was named one of the winners of the 2026 Keeling Curve Prize during the inaugural Climate Curve Awards held in Aspen, Colorado in the USA.
LinQ Powr was one of only two winners in the Transport & Mobility category, alongside U.S.-based sustainable aviation fuel company LanzaJet.
The Kenyan company was recognised for addressing two pressing challenges affecting East Africa, unreliable electricity supply and the growing number of retired electric vehicle batteries.
Rather than allowing used batteries to become waste, LinQ Powr refurbishes them into backup energy storage systems that keep electric motorcycle battery-swapping stations operating during power outages. The innovation ensures uninterrupted charging services for electric motorcycles, a rapidly expanding mode of transport across Kenya and the wider East African region.
By extending the lifespan of EV batteries while strengthening energy reliability, the company has developed a circular economy model that reduces waste and supports the transition to cleaner transport.
The awards ceremony brought together climate scientists, entrepreneurs, investors and sustainability advocates from around the world to celebrate scalable climate solutions.
“It’s rare to find an evening where high-stakes climate innovation meets genuine joy and humor,” said Jacquelyn Francis, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Curve. “The creativity on display here gives me immense hope. We are building a movement, and every solution matters.”
The Keeling Curve Prize is Climate Curve’s flagship global awards programme, recognising organisations developing practical solutions to climate change. Winners are selected through a rigorous assessment process conducted by an international panel of experts from the public, private and non-profit sectors.
Each winning organisation receives a US$50,000 prize aimed at helping promising climate ventures overcome the critical funding gap often referred to as the “valley of death”, which is the difficult stage between developing an innovation and achieving commercial scale.
Since its launch, Climate Curve has awarded more than US$2.75 million to 80 climate-focused organisations worldwide and evaluated over 1,800 climate solutions.
While LinQ Powr was Kenya’s sole winner, the 2026 Keeling Curve Prize recognised organisations from the United States, Singapore and Switzerland across five categories of Carbon Sinks, Energy, Finance, Social & Cultural Pathways, and Transport & Mobility.
The winning projects ranged from carbon capture technologies and sustainable batteries to clean aviation fuel, community-led climate action and regenerative agriculture.
