HyveGeo’s approach to restoring degraded land stands out at the FoodTech Challenge
Updated
January 21, 2026 11:09 AM
Clusters of sandstone buttes in Monument Valley, Colorado Plateau. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
HyveGeo, a climate-focused startup, has been named one of the global winners of the FoodTech Challenge, an international competition designed to surface practical technologies that strengthen food systems in arid and climate-stressed regions.
The FoodTech Challenge (FTC) is based in the UAE and brings together governments, foundations and agri-food institutions to identify early-stage solutions that address food production, land degradation and resource efficiency. Each year, hundreds of startups apply from around the world. In 2026, more than 1,200 teams from 113 countries submitted entries. Only four were selected.
HyveGeo stood out for its approach to one of agriculture’s hardest problems: how to make desert soil usable again. Founded in 2023 by a group of scientists and researchers, the Abu Dhabi-based company focuses on regenerating degraded land using a process built around biochar, a carbon-rich material made from agricultural waste, enhanced with microalgae. The aim is to accelerate soil recovery in environments where water is limited and land has been heavily stressed.
What caught the judges’ attention was not just the technology itself, but the way it links several challenges at once. The system turns waste into a usable soil input, reduces the time it takes for land to become productive and locks carbon into the ground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. In short, it addresses land degradation, food production and climate pressure through a single framework.
As a winner of the FoodTech Challenge, HyveGeo will share a US$2 million prize with the other selected startups. Beyond funding, the company will also receive support from the UAE’s innovation ecosystem, including research backing, pilot projects, market access and incubation services to help move from testing into wider deployment.
The team’s plans focus on scaling within the UAE first. HyveGeo aims to work across Abu Dhabi’s network of farms and gradually expand into other arid and climate-stressed regions. Its longer-term target is to restore thousands of hectares of degraded land and contribute to carbon removal through soil-based methods.
Placed in a broader context, HyveGeo’s win reflects a shift in how food and climate technologies are being evaluated. Instead of chasing dramatic breakthroughs, competitions like the FTC are increasingly backing systems that connect waste, land, water and carbon into something usable on the ground. Not futuristic agriculture, but practical repair work for environments that can no longer rely on old farming assumptions. If that direction continues, the next wave of food innovation may be less about spectacle and more about quiet, scalable fixes for places where growing food has become hardest.
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How ECOPEACE uses autonomous robots and data to monitor and maintain urban water bodies.
Updated
January 8, 2026 6:27 PM
A school of fish swimming among debris and waste. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
South Korea–based water technology company ECOPEACE is working on a practical challenge many cities face today: keeping urban water bodies clean as pollution and algae growth become more frequent. Rather than relying on periodic cleanup drives, the company focuses on systems that can monitor and manage water conditions on an ongoing basis.
At the core of ECOPEACE’s work are autonomous water-cleanup robots known as ECOBOT. These machines operate directly on lakes, reservoirs and rivers, removing algae and surface waste while also collecting information about water quality. The idea is to combine cleaning with constant observation so changes in water conditions do not go unnoticed.
Alongside the robots, ECOPEACE uses a filtration and treatment system designed to process polluted water continuously. This system filters out contaminants using fine metal filters and treats the water using electrical processes. It also cleans itself automatically, which allows it to run for long periods without frequent manual maintenance.
The role of AI in this setup is largely about decision-making rather than direct control. Sensors placed across the water body collect data such as pollution levels and water quality indicators. The software then analyses this data to spot early signs of issues like algae growth. Based on these patterns, the system adjusts how the robots and filtration units operate, such as changing treatment intensity or water flow. In simple terms, the technology helps the system respond sooner instead of waiting for visible problems to appear.
ECOPEACE has already deployed these systems across several reservoirs, rivers and urban waterways in South Korea. Those projects have helped refine how the robots, sensors and software work together in real environments rather than controlled test sites.
Building on that experience, the company has begun expanding beyond Korea. It is currently running pilot and proof-of-concept projects in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. These deployments are testing how the technology performs in dense urban settings where waterways are closely linked to public health, infrastructure and daily city life.
Both regions have invested heavily in smart city initiatives and water management, making them suitable test beds for automated monitoring and cleanup systems. The pilots focus on algae control, surface cleaning and real-time tracking of water quality rather than large-scale rollout.
As cities continue to grow and climate-related pressures on water systems increase, managing waterways is becoming less about occasional intervention and more about continuous oversight. ECOPEACE’s approach reflects that shift by using automation and data to address problems early and reduce the need for reactive cleanup later.