Birte Kattelmann-Jagdt Wins 2026 Green Angels Award for Sustainable Startups
Birte Kattelmann-Jagdt of DĂźsseldorf has been awarded this year's Green Angels Award 2026, presented by the Business Angels Agency Ruhr (BAAR). The jury, chaired by State Secretary Viktor Haase of North Rhine-Westphalia's Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transport, selected her from a shortlist of six nominees. The inaugural award ceremony took place at the Green Angels Summit NRW in Cologne, an event supported by the NRW Ministry of the Environment. We were pleased to have Mathias Renz, editor-in-chief of VC Magazin, as part of the jury.
According to the award criteria, the prize honors business angels who have invested in one or more green startups in North Rhine-Westphaliaâcompanies whose business models deliver tangible benefits for the climate and environmentâand who provide outstanding support not just through capital, but also with expertise, empathy, and access to their networks.
Kattelmann-Jagdt's portfolio includes five green startups, among others. One standout is Regascold GmbH (Aachen), which specializes in recovering cold energy from the regasification of liquefied gases. Using patented technology, the company captures the cold released during the transition from liquid to gas and redirects it into targeted cooling processes. This innovation enables industrial cooling to become more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective, helping businesses cut COâ emissions and reduce energy costs.
The founders she supports praise Kattelmann-Jagdt for her willingness to challenge assumptionsâasking the tough questions others avoid and exposing blind spotsâas well as her unparalleled access to investors, venture capitalists, and industry and media partners. Her strengths also lie in coaching and strategic sparring. With a background as a corporate spokesperson and communications manager at BASF, a consultant specializing in strategic leadership, and now as managing director of her own firm, Bekaya â Ventures & Advisory, she brings a unique blend of business acumen and linguistic expertise (she holds degrees in business administration and Romance studies).
Kattelmann-Jagdt explains her motivation: "My passion is helping visionary greentech founders scale their solutions for maximum impact. I invest because I want my daughtersâand future generationsâto inherit a diverse, equitable, and sustainable world. That's why I back innovations that accelerate the shift to a regenerative economy: solutions with measurable benefits for people and the planet, built on robust, scalable business models."
