Sunified Wins TRUE ZERO GLOBAL PRIZE
Tiny Solar Chip Wins Big
Sunified’s UNITY chip
Sunified named winner of the TRUE ZERO GLOBAL PRIZE at COP31 for UNITY, the chip that makes solar and BESS verifiable at panel and module level
Sunified’s solar trust infrastructure is the winner of the TRUE ZERO GLOBAL PRIZE. The win was announced today, 10 November 2026, at COP31, the UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Türkiye. Sunified’s CEO, Leon-Gerard Vandenberg was in Antalya to present its technology on the global stage and receive the winner's cheque for USD 50,000.
The TRUE ZERO GLOBAL PRIZE is a global challenge for founders and organisations advancing sustainability, regenerative technology and planetary health. It is presented by SparkLabs True Zero, a Türkiye-based global investment and venture growth platform, powered by SparkLabs Group and NetZero TEKMER, and held as part of COP31 Türkiye 2026. The 2026 competition drew clean energy startups from around the world across carbon reduction, renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage and emerging markets.
The judging panel brings together leaders in venture investment, energy research and global business. Among them are Bernard Moon, Co-founder and Partner of SparkLabs Group, a network of accelerators and venture funds that has backed more than 480 companies; Eugene Kim, General Partner of SparkLabs Korea; Dr Kathiresan Ramprakash, Programme Director of the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University (NTU); Angela Killoren, President of the Council of Korean Americans; and Bodin Scepanovic, Partner, SparkLabs Saudi Arabia, an experienced investment lead who has previously overseen USD 4.5B in investment and holdings.
Their verdict carries weight because these are the people who back, research and scale the technologies the energy transition depends on.
Large-scale solar today runs with insufficient data at panel level, leaving operators, financiers and insurers guessing. The result is overbuilt assets, unverified generation figures and risk premiums that leave fewer projects financeable.
Sunified's answer is UNITY, an inexpensive deep-tech chip embedded into every solar panel and battery module. It delivers treasury-grade data and energy security from the panel up, the kind of technology the International Energy Agency's latest report has called for. As more projects join the network, production becomes more transparent, asset efficiency rises and finance and insurance costs fall across the supply chain. This trusted, renewable data also opens new markets, from energy communities sharing a battery to tokenised investment in renewables.
Sunified’s patented technology was invented in the United Kingdom and developed in Australia and the Netherlands by a global team that brings together decades of experience in cryptography, smartcard technology, solar and storage distribution, and state-of-the-art zero-trust cybersecurity.
"After many years of being overlooked, the thesis behind our technology has been recognised as not only advancing sustainability but laying the foundation for emerging markets," said Leon-Gerard Vandenberg, CEO of Sunified Group.
About Sunified
Sunified Group B.V. is an Amsterdam-based climate tech company building a global green energy data standard. Its UNITY chip makes renewable energy assets verifiable, financeable and cybersecure.
Learn more at sunified.com. LIVE SITE 👉truezero.sunified.ai
Media contact: Sunified Group B.V.
Ben Cunningham / CMO
bencu@sunified.com