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MN Cup is an annual competition for entrepreneurs, researchers, and inventors run by the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. The competition connects emerging businesses with education, mentorship, and support to launch and accelerate the development of their new ventures.

As part of the competition, the MPCA offers a Sustainable Chemistry Prize of $10,000. The purpose of the prize is to increase sustainable chemistry awareness and innovation and to help those within Minnesota’s sustainable chemistry community connect with each other. 

The MPCA has adopted the Expert Committee on Sustainable Chemistry's recent definition of sustainable chemistry — "the development and application of chemicals, chemical processes, and products that benefit current and future generations without harmful impacts to humans or ecosystems" — as the basis for the prize.

The Sustainable Chemistry Prize is awarded to technologies and products that demonstrate safer or more sustainable chemistry than those already on the market providing the same function. Other judging criteria include:

  • use of one or more green chemistry principles
  • demonstrable potential to reduce a product's effect on public health, especially children, workers, or disadvantaged communities
  • replacement of one or more Minnesota Chemicals of High Concern

Qualifying new technologies may be:

  • new chemistry or formulations
  • nonchemical technology that performs as needed without using hazardous substances (e.g., flame-resistant coating that doesn't use hazardous flame retardants)
  • a production-method improvement that reduces toxicity in a product's life cycle

Candidate companies and technologies should be:

  • at practical proof-of-concept stage (demonstration testing completed)
  • commercial or have a planned path to commercialization
  • in compliance with applicable MPCA regulations for the past three years

2025 winner

The winner of the 2025 MN Cup’s $10,000 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Prize was Naware, a Minnesota startup based in Edina.

The device is a robotics platform that mounts onto existing equipment like a mower and uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to detect weeds and spray them with hot steam, both killing the weeds while cutting grass. The AI ensures that only weeds get a blast of the hot steam. Nozzles with cameras and steam jets identify weeds as the lawn mower moves. The precision targeting technology uses only steam to eradicate weeds in about 20 minutes.  

The inventor's concerns over the dangers of herbicides led him to come up with this nontoxic weed-killing alternative. 

The company has started to pitch the product to potential investors. As of now, the company’s target market includes customers with large areas of grass to cover, like parks, golf courses, and soccer fields. Money from the prize will help Naware cover some of the costs that come with introducing an invention to the market.

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