TUM Climate Ventures

• As a Tech Lead: If you are a doctoral researcher with a research project or technology, you can join with your own idea and explore its commercial potential alongside an interdisciplinary team. 

   

• As a Team Member: If you do not have a specific idea, you can join an existing project team and contribute your skills. This track is open to advanced master’s students and doctoral candidates.

Participants will form interdisciplinary teams to explore, validate, and develop climate-tech ventures based on their own technologies. The course includes:

• Weekly lectures with climate founders, industry experts, and academic partners.
• Weekly mentoring sessions to support project development.
• Participation in exclusive TUM Climate Ventures community events. 
• Two pitching events (mid-term and final) with a jury of climate founders and venture capitalists. 

The program’s thematic focus is on customer discovery, techno-economic analysis, and business modeling. 

Meet our hosts: 

Lars Eiermann (Managing Director and CSO TUM Venture Lab Sustainability)

Michael Viertler (Senior Partner Emeritus McKinsey & Company)

Lucia Lara (Venture Manager TUM Venture Labs)

Jazmin Zanella (TUM Venture Labs)

Our guest speakers include leading voices from the global climate-tech scene—investors, founders, and academics from institutions like Breakthrough Energy, Stanford, MIT, and TUM. Past speakers include Dave Danielson (Breakthrough Energy & Stanford), Tod Hynes (MIT), Markus Fuhrmann (Gropyus), Felix Fischer (Reverion) and many more. 

Interdisciplinary teams are formed around the research projects and technologies brought by participating scientists. 

To kick off the course, participants spend a weekend in the Alps getting to know one another, exploring potential collaborations, and forming the teams that will work together throughout the semester. 

High effort – High reward

Let’s be honest: this course requires commitment. You will attend weekly lectures with climate experts and founders, participate in community events, work with your team and mentors, and actively develop your venture throughout the program.

If you are looking for a low-effort class with limited engagement, this may not be the right fit. You get out of the course what you put into it: the more time and energy you invest, the more value you will gain from the experience.

Yes. We expect total commitment from participants, including availability in Munich in terms of time and location for the weekly lectures (Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.) and for our community events.  

Master's students can get 6 ECTS, the accreditation depends on the study program. Please double-check with your study coordinator (MGT001459).  

Not necessarily, this class is also a great learning opportunity and networking experience, you do not need to start a company. 

Throughout the course, you'll also discover the wide range of opportunities available within the TUM entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how to leverage them to take your venture to the next stage. The TUM Climate Ventures team will also continue to support and connect you beyond the course through follow-up activities, resources, and access to the broader climate entrepreneurship community. 

Many former teams have continued developing their ventures by joining leading entrepreneurship programs such as XPLORE, XPRENEURS, the EXIST Startup Grant, and the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, among others.

• 5 tech projects
• 30 participants 

For Tech Leads

This track is open to doctoral candidates in engineering or natural sciences, applying with research projects or technologies with applications in climate technology.

Applicants should have either:

• A research project or technology with applications in climate technology that is at the proof-of-concept or early prototype stage and whose commercial potential they would like to explore, or
• A research-based idea with a well-founded rationale and strong potential for real-world impact.

If you are unsure whether your technology or research is the right fit, don't hesitate to contact us at tumclimateventures@tum-venture-labs.de. We're happy to discuss your project.

For Team Members

This track is open to doctoral candidates and advanced Master's students (Master's applicants should be in their second semester or beyond).

We prioritize applicants with relevant practical experience, such as:

• Work or internship experience related to climate technology, sustainability, or climate policy.
• Previous entrepreneurial or startup experience.
• Participation in innovation and entrepreneurship programs such as Manage&More or CDTM.

Above all, we look for motivated participants who are eager to contribute their skills to an interdisciplinary team and help build impactful climate technology ventures.

We are looking for research-based, deep-tech innovations with applications in climate technology. 

Eligible projects should be grounded in scientific or engineering research, involve a novel technological approach, and have the potential to address significant climate challenges.

The program is not intended for purely digital ideas or business models without a significant underlying research or technological innovation.

To get a better understanding of the types of technologies we support, we encourage you to explore our success stories section. 

If you are unsure whether your technology or research project is the right fit, contact us at tumclimateventures@tum-venture-labs.de. We would be happy to discuss your idea and help determine whether it aligns with the program.

We are looking for people and ideas with the ambition and potential to create meaningful impact for the planet.

For Tech Leads (doctoral candidates):

Please provide a description of your research or technology project, ideally as a one-page overview or poster, to help us better understand your technology and its potential applications.

For Team Members (doctoral candidates and Master’s students):

• CV
• Letter of motivation
• 2-minute motivational video: Explain your motivation for joining the course and how your skills and experience could contribute to developing a first venture concept.

We will prioritize passionate individuals about chasing a solution to this problem and who have a diverse mix of skills, and want to devote the time and energy during the semester. We care about your idea / why you want to take part in the program. How will TUM Climate Ventures help you achieve your goals?

Submit your application documents via this link.

• 15 July 2026: Applications open (we review on a rolling basis)
• 15 September 2026: Applications close
• 04 October 2026: Selection announcement
• 13 October 2026: First lecture
• 24 - 25 October 2026: Kick-Off Getaway at the Alps