Since its inception in 2019, the SCIP⁺ contest has become one of the most influential innovation and entrepreneurship competitions in the chemical industry. Now entering its eighth year, the 2026 edition adopts the theme "Green changes the world; intelligent chemical industry creates the future". Centered on three major needs in the chemical industry — "Future Materials, Future Energy, and Future Environment" — the contest emphasizes innovation leadership, green and low-carbon development, precision, and efficiency, promoting the industry's green development.

This year's event brings together support from more than 40 leading companies, investment and financing institutions, research institutes, and other organizations and platforms from around the world. It also invites over 80 senior industry experts, corporate executives, and investment heads to participate in mentoring and evaluation, providing outstanding startup enterprises and innovative teams with key resources including the commercialization of technological achievements, technology deployment, commercial scaling, and investment and financing opportunities.

The contest welcomed entries featuring scientific and technological innovations or mature technology products that make materials greener, energy cleaner, designs more eco-friendly, or processes more efficient.

Contest Topics

Topic 1: Future Materials

Low-carbon raw material substitution in the chemical industry;

Bio-manufacturing raw materials, bio-based materials, biodegradable materials, and biomedical materials; high-performance carbon fiber and other specialty fibers, lightweight materials, biomimetic functional materials, adaptive elastomeric fiber materials, supporting materials for joint modules, special composite materials, and silicon-based core materials for low-altitude economy, new energy, and embodied intelligence applications;

Electronic chemicals for integrated circuits, advanced semiconductor materials (silicon carbide, gallium nitride, etc.), high-temperature superconducting materials, solid-state battery materials, advanced optical materials, superhard materials, and other frontier materials;

High-purity reagents, novel functional coatings, high-performance synthetic resins, high-end membrane materials, high-performance rubber materials, high-performance engineering plastics, 3D printing materials, recycled materials, and other green materials;

AI-driven materials; and

AI-enabled research and development, production, application scenarios, etc.

Topic 2: Future Energy

Clean energy applications including hydrogen, solar, wind, biomass, and marine energy;

Low-carbon transportation fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel;

Disruptive processes and technologies for high-efficiency novel energy storage, with emphasis on Power-to-X and chemical storage for new energy;

Novel battery technologies and applications;

Controlled nuclear fusion technology and applications; and

Innovative solutions across the full chain of hydrogen production, storage, transport, refueling, and utilization.

Topic 3: Future Environment

Energy/resource recovery, recycling, and carbon reduction governance solutions for carbon-containing wastes from industrial, agricultural, and domestic sources;

Water pollution treatment and reuse, soil remediation; comprehensive solutions for new pollutant monitoring, separation, and disposal;

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage;

Energy saving, consumption reduction, retrofitting, and smart management for energy and energy-consuming systems;

Production process optimization, AI and intelligent machinery applications, and other advanced energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies; and

Carbon emission statistics, verification, and carbon footprint management.

 

Designated Topics

In addition to the main topics, this year's contest features a dedicated Designated Topics Unit, where participating teams may submit solutions or results from entrepreneurial practice addressing specific industry challenges. Topics include:

1. Development of high-performance eco-friendly 3D-printing support materials

2. Development and application of high-performance lightweight composite materials

3. Bio-based and biosynthetic raw material solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of high-performance polymers

4. Application and innovation of new processes and new energy in traditional energy-intensive industries

5. Innovative conversion of green carbon sources and next-generation sustainable synthesis gas production technology

6. Resource recycling and circular applications

7. Next-generation innovative raw materials for medical aesthetics and/or skincare products

8. Exploration of non-fossil pathways for packaging plastics

9. Green ammonia production and cosmetic-grade transformation

10. Exploration of mineral oils from innovative sources

11. R&D of adaptive elastomeric fiber materials

12. Biomimetic structural design and R&D of new materials

13. Advanced gas purification materials

14. Novel liquefied gas electrolytes

15. R&D of protective and functional coatings

16. Novel functional material solutions for emerging electronic devices

17. Thermal management solutions

18. Water vapor treatment and filtration materials for new energy vehicle applications

19. Practice and application of chemical data fabric and contextualization platforms

20. Predictive maintenance solutions enabled by industrial AI-driven equipment management

21. Water-Energy-Carbon management and synergistic optimization solutions for chemical parks

22. Lightweight material solutions for humanoid robots

23. Industrial big data platform for the future of AI

24. Development of green warm-mix asphalt technology and evaluation of road performance

25. Full-chain innovative solutions for localized production of green fuels in SCIP

26. Key technologies for electrosynthesis of formic acid from flue gas CO₂ and co-production of green oxygen

27. Oxygen electrode and system design for high-safety, long-life rechargeable iron-air batteries

 

Eligibility and Requirements

The contest comprises two groups: the Innovation Group and the Entrepreneurship Group.

Innovation Group

• Target Participants: Current undergraduate students and graduate students, including master's and doctoral students, enrolled at universities, colleges, and research institutions; graduates holding bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees who completed their studies through full-time, non-adult education programs; and young faculty members at universities and colleges.
• Project Applicant: Must be the project lead.

Entrepreneurship Group

(1) Target Participants: Registered domestic and foreign startup enterprises and teams that possess prototypes of basic products, technologies, or services, hold independent intellectual property rights, and seek commercial scale-up.

(2) Project Applicant: Must be the founder, legal representative, or technical lead of the company/team.

IP Requirement: All intellectual property involved in an entry must be owned by the participating team. If third-party IP is involved, complete and legally valid written authorization from the IP owner, relevant patent certificates, and other supporting documents must be submitted with the registration.

 

Event Schedule

The contest was announced and promoted globally to universities, colleges, and startup companies through the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, SCIP, East China University of Science and Technology, National Innovation Center par Excellence (NICE), Business France, Enterprise Ireland, Impact Hub Shanghai, and Talent Rising (MIT Technology Review China), as well as co-organizers and partner organizations.

Registration for the 2026 contest closed on Aug 31, 2026.

Preliminary & Semi-Finals | Sept 1 – Nov 6

The Evaluation Committee will select teams to advance to the semi-finals based on the evaluation criteria and will notify the shortlisted teams via email, WeChat, and similar channels.

In November, the Organizing Committee will host online semi-finals to select finalist teams. Finalists will be notified via email or WeChat, and the shortlist will be announced on the official WeChat account and website.

Finalist Project Optimization | Before the Final

To improve presentation outcomes and strengthen competitiveness, the Organizing Committee will engage industry experts to provide pre-contest mentoring for the shortlisted teams.

Final | Late November

Finalist teams will give on-site presentations, which will be evaluated on site by a panel of experts from industry, investment, and other fields.

Acceleration and Commercialization | From December

Winning teams will participate in a one-week immersive incubation bootcamp providing support in innovative thinking, customer validation, product/service design, sustainable and scalable business model development, impact testing, project roadshows, and investor matchmaking sessions. Relevant experts and mentors will be invited based on the winning teams' specific fields.

 

Contest Rewards

1. Cash Prizes and Certificates

2. Investment & Financing Fast-Track

(1) Winners may advance directly to the semi-finals of the "Startup in Shanghai" International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

(2) Winners may receive funding through the Angel Fund's Eaglet Program.

(3) Winners may be recommended by the Science and Technology Finance Center of ICBC Shanghai Branch to ICBC Investment and co-investment funds.

3. Incubation and Industrial Deployment Support

(1) Winners may benefit from the "appropriation-investment linkage" policy for innovation commercialization at SCIP.

(2) Winners may join immersive business visits and accelerated incubation programs, with opportunities to network with industry experts and investors, and to pursue industrial matchmaking, application deployment, and market expansion.

(3) Outstanding winning teams may receive free office workstations at the Shanghai International Chemical New Materials Innovation Center (INNOGREEN) within SCIP and benefit from corresponding support policies for R&D, lab-scale tests, and pilot-scale trials (as outlined in the "Implementation Measures for Supporting High-Quality Industrial Development in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park").

 

Contest Website

Click to enter the official contest website.

 

Inquiries & Contact

For inquiries, please add the IH Fellow WeChat account and include "SCIP" in the note.

Source: Official WeChat account of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (ID: "gh_f4f4f41b342e")