Mathew Holloway, founder of eco-friendly air-conditioning company Artica, has been named as the winner of The Good Entrepreneur competition. London-based Holloway formed Artica in 2008 with four friends after meeting on an Industrial Design course at the Royal College of Art in London.

Artica is an energy efficient air cooling, ventilation and heat recovery system which can reduce energy usage by up to 90%. Artica’s technology uses ‘thermal batteries’ to capture energy when it is freely available and release it when needed, reducing energy bills throughout the year. It works without the HFCs used in conventional air conditioners, which are powerful greenhouse gases.

The system takes advantage of the natural temperature difference between day and night. At night the Artica unit draws in cool outside air and passes it over the thermal batteries to charge them. During the day the Artica unit monitors both air quality and temperature within the room, to supply fresh air or cooling.

On winning the grand prize, Holloway commented, “I’m extremely excited and honored to be named as ‘The Good Entrepreneur’. Since launch, the team has been working hard to make the concept a reality. This prize will help us take the business to the next level and further our goal of reducing people’s environmental impact through innovative product and design.”

Holloway took home a prize package valued at more than €250,000, which includes financial support, advertising on CNBC and business support from Allianz. He beat two other finalists, Bristol-based Craig White who runs Modcell, a carbon negative homes business that uses renewable materials such as wood, straw and hemp; and Malta-based Marco Cremona, who has developed a water treatment system which avoids pollution and saves 80% of the water consumed.

Mick Buckley, President & CEO, EMEA at CNBC said: “The aim of this competition was to identify and support entrepreneurs with environmentally sustainable business concepts and we had three great finalists. Mathew was able to show to the judges in the final, that he has the idea as well as the ambition and drive to successfully develop his business. We look forward to following his progress.”

Dr. Steven Althaus, Vice President Global Brand Management and Strategic Partnerships at Allianz: “We congratulate Mathew on his success in The Good Entrepreneur competition and hope that with the prize package, he is able to develop Artica into a sustainable business. One of Allianz’s key strategies is to encourage sustainable development and I hope that the competition and its website have been a source of information and support to the wider entrepreneurial community.”

The Good Entrepreneur competition, which was created by business and financial news channel CNBC and financial services provider Allianz, launched earlier this year and aimed to identify the entrepreneur with the best eco-business concept that is sustainable, responsible and innovative.

The judging panel, which included Nani Beccalli-Falco, President and CEO, GE International, Dr. Armin Sandhövel CEO, Allianz Climate Solutions, Reid Hoffman, CEO, LinkedIn.com, Sir David King, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford and Jean-Philippe Courtois, President, Microsoft International, agreed that Mathew has the right idea, business model, vision, personality and leadership required to succeed.

The competition, which drew more than 200 entries from across Europe, culminated in a four-part CNBC TV series which featured the three finalists, as they received advice and mentoring support from top business leaders. The complete series can be viewed at website.

The Good Entrepreneur competition was a result of a strategic partnership between Allianz, one of the leading global financial services providers and CNBC, the leading pan-EMEA business and financial news channel. It aligned with Allianz sustainable development strategy and commitment to the pursuit of a sustainable world, through combining long-term economic value, environmental stewardship and social responsibility.