Planetary Solutions Prize 2026: Oilzyme Takes Top Honors at Startup Yale
Planetary Solutions Prize 2026 at Startup Yale
Planetary Solutions Prize 2026 at Startup Yale
Startup Yale's 2026 Planetary Solutions Prize — a $50,000 award for student ventures tackling sustainability and climate challenges — was won by Oilzyme, founded by Jenelle Lee (YSE '26), who took home the $35,000 first-place prize plus a $2,000 audience choice award. Apical, founded by Shivansh Chaturvedi (SOM/YSE '26), took second place and $15,000.
The Finalists
Oilzyme, founded by Jenelle Lee, deploys shipboard microbial consortia to break down tanker sludge and oily residues during voyages, pairing a dry-powder treatment with rapid test kits to help shipping companies cut disposal costs and curb illegal dumping at sea.
Apical, founded by Shivansh Chaturvedi, applies physics-informed machine learning to sharpen solar power forecasts, reducing unnecessary curtailment and helping grid operators integrate more renewable capacity.
BareFoote Metals, founded by Quinn Zacharias, P.E., stabilizes heavy metals in contaminated brownfield soils using enhanced rock weathering with engineered basalt, helping municipalities and developers reuse contaminated sites without costly excavation.
Olmsted, founded by George Hu, is an AI-native permitting platform that replaces the fragmented emails, shared drives, and spreadsheets developers use to manage clean energy projects, helping cut through the regulatory bottlenecks that delay infrastructure the most.
The Judges
The four finalists pitched before a panel of judges whose expertise spans impact investing, conservation, and sustainable development. Amir Chireh Mehr, Brandon Blaesser, Justine Lee, and Jenny Tromski all contributed thoughtful questions and generous feedback which pushed each team to sharpen their pitch and gave the founders real-world insight to continue building.
About the Prize
Now in its second year under the Planetary Solutions name (previously the Sustainable Venture Prize, founded in 2008), the competition is managed by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and funded by Yale Planetary Solutions. The prize awards $35,000 to the first-place venture and $15,000 to the runner-up, with an additional $2,000 audience choice award voted on by attendees. This year's four finalists pitched ventures spanning the energy transition, environmental remediation, and ocean pollution.
The prize was one of nine categories awarded at Startup Yale 2026, held April 10th at Hotel Marcel, which drew a record turnout of over 1,000 attendees under the theme "Build with Purpose. Grow through Community."