As part of its partnership with Texas A&M University, the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers is joining forces for the fourth time with an event that is part of TAMU's Aggies Invent program: the international Invent For The Planet (IFTP) hackathon.
25 students took part in this hackathon involving prototyping, bringing together 51 universities from around the world (24 countries) from Friday, February 7 at 4:30 p.m. to Sunday, February 9 at 5:00 p.m. (local time).
This year, the campus welcomed teams from different campuses: 11 students from the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers (Grande Ecole Program, Specialized Engineering Program, Specialized Master's Program®), 10 students from Texas A&M University studying on campus for a semester, and 4 students from Kedge Business School Marseille.
Invent for the planet, a unique experience
Invent for the Planet is a fantastic opportunity for all these students to showcase their skills in industrial innovation and management by responding to global challenges and issues.
The teams are multidisciplinary. It is the skills of each individual and the complementary nature of the teams that will contribute to the success of this challenge!
Need statement 1 - Advance marine carbon sequestration using seaweed
Need statement 2 - Develop low-carbon solutions for the energy sector
Need statement 3 - Advance carbon capture and storage technologies
Need statement 4 - Creating sustainable housing Solutions for expanding poverty areas
Statement of Need 5 - Innovative solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change
Statement of Need 6 - Improving sanitation in riverside communities
A major challenge for the campus
A team will representArts et Métiers present its solution to the international pre-selection jury.
Then, during the final phase, which will take place from April 14 to 18 in Texas, five international finalist teams will compete for prizes of up to $10,000 and the title of world champion!
Last year, a team from the campus proudly representedArts et Métiers presented its solution to the international jury during the final phase, which took place for the first time in France, in Aix-en-Provence, on April 18, 2024, at the Convention Center, as part of "Greentech by Arts et Métiers week Arts et Métiers "
How did the hackathon go?
Throughout the weekend, and at each major stage, the teams were supported by 13 management and technology coaches to ensure that they addressed the issues effectively and stayed on schedule.
After forming mixed teams, four highlights punctuated the weekend:
The Dance (February 7): team formation
The Design: (February 7 and 8): teams focused on researching ideas and solutions
The Doing: (February 8): teams built their prototypes and prepared for their pitches
The Deal: (February 9): the students continued to make progress on their prototypes, a 90-second video, and a compelling final pitch (10 minutes) before presenting to a jury.
The awards
At the end of the weekend, the teams presented their projects to a jury.
The jury was composed of Prof. Féthi Ben Ouezdou, campus director, Olivier Provitina, head of scientific partnerships at CEA Cadarache, Salah Khouiel, deputy mayor of Aix-en-Provence, and Guillaume Laurie, head of educational quality at KEDGE Business School Marseille.
He selected four innovative solutions:
🏆 The gold medal was awarded by Prof. Féthi Ben Ouezdou, campus director, and Salah Khouiel, deputy mayor of Aix-en-Provence, to the CarbonCatch team for its reusable roll solution. It absorbs carbon from the ambient and polluted air in urban areas and converts it into calcium carbonate, which is sold to industry and agriculture. This reduces the carbon footprint of the partner company, which receives a commission on the revenue.
As winners, the team will participate in the international finals, which will take place from April 14 to 18 in Texas.
🏆 The silver medal was awarded by Prof. Féthi Ben Ouezdou, campus director, and Guillaume Laurie, head of educational quality at KEDGE Business School Marseille, to the Vertical Solutions team, which offers a microalgae-based biofilter that enables automated collection of excess algae. The CO2 captured is used for microalgae proliferation, so the surplus will be used to produce biofuels, fertilizers, etc.
🏆 A joint bronze medal was awarded by Prof. Féthi Ben Ouezdou, campus director, and Thibault Naudet, project manager at EON Motors, to the House on Wheels team for their solution that allows off-road buses to be equipped with beds, showers, toilets, and stoves for use in major disasters.
🥇 A joint bronze medal and the Coup de Coeur prize were awarded by Prof. Féthi Ben Ouezdou, campus director, and Olivier Provitina, head of scientific partnerships at CEA Cadarache, to the BioBasin team, a hexagonal algae cultivation module that helps reduce the carbon impact of industry by capturing CO2 at source. Carbon is sequestered in algae cultivated by photosynthesis, transforming greenhouse gases into food or energy.
The CEA presented the team with a trophy.
Congratulations to the winning teams!
Thank you to the event partners CEA Cadarache and KEDGE Business School Marseille, the organizers, and the coaches who made this challenge possible!
And the adventure continued
The final curtain fell on the 2025 edition of Invent For The Planet on April 17 in Texas... and what an adventure it was for the Carbon Catch team, who proudly represented France, Arts et Métiers , and KEDGE Business School.
The team took third place behind Qatar and Jordan , as well as the Audience Award at the international final organized by Texas A&M University College of Engineering !
Experience the final as if you were there!
"Double reward, double pride" Faustine
"Beyond the competition, we had the chance to spend four unforgettable days at Texas A&M, discovering this welcoming university and meeting the other brilliant finalist teams, their cultures, and their visions." Léna
"This experience marks a key milestone... and inspires us to aim even higher to continue building meaningful and impactful projects." 🚀 " Ilan and Tao
In February, they were selected as one of the seven finalists (out of 250 teams and 51 universities) to defend their project!
This was followed by weeks of intense preparation, technical, human, and strategic learning to develop their innovative carbon capture solution, including:
- Building a prototype
- Chemical analyses
- Technical and economic modeling
- Defining a business strategy
- The search for partners
A huge thank you to all the coaches Aina Andrianoely, Yves Manelli, Lucien CABRERA, Laetitia Armange ✨, Béatrix MATHIEU-ADAMO, Virgile FABRESSE, Elliot Prybil, Etan Gentil, campus staff Prof. Féthi Ben Ouezdou, Magali Fournié and Florian HUET, the Texan organizers Jim D., Fred Pifano, Maria Claudia B. Alves for supporting Carbon Catch throughout this challenge.
And above all, congratulations to my teammates for their commitment and perseverance Ilan Bruski, Léna Ouchet, Faustine Falchero, Tao Toy, Eashaan Prasanna and Hormuz Buhariwalla !
