THE HEAT 2025 will feature a rich day of activities, including inspiring stories, expert workshops, product demonstrations, alt-food tastings, musical performances, art, a participant-led “unconference”, tours of the Harwell Science Campus, a startup pitch competition, speed networking, an evening party — the hottest event on campus… and much more!
Our schedule (still to be confirmed)
9:00 - VIP breakfast
By invitation.
10:00 - Official opening
You’ll be guided through the festival, and will get to explore the festival campus, with climate-tech product demonstrations, future-food tastings, bespoke networking opportunities, and more.
10:10 - Keynote presentations
A lively, informed, engaging and tightly curated session of 10-minute keynote talks, from key figures in climate-tech. Full details to follow in the coming weeks on our Speakers page.
12:30 - Networking picnic lunch
Your ticket will include a lunch voucher, for a nutritious and tasty vegetarian picnic lunch. But we want you to make new friends, so we’ll redeem vouchers only when presented in groups of at least 4 (which means you’ll get to meet fellow THE HEAT participants!)
13:30 - Unconference sessions
THE HEAT’s “unconference” sessions are driven entirely by you: over two hours, participants run sessions that they’ve proposed, including workshops, discussions, talks, science demos, or whatever you’re excited by. This is our “open-source” part of the day, tapping into the knowledge, creativity and thoughtfulness of the crowd. In the morning, you can propose your session with a marker pen on a whiteboard which is divided into 50-minute slots in 8 locations on the festival site. You can then pitch for an audience from the main stage before lunch. Surprise us!
15:30 - Startup pitch battle [or] Bonus keynote session
You have a choice this hour: Be a dragon and evaluate five-minute pitches from 10 selected climate-tech startups that are currently fundraising. At our 2024 festival, we had investors from Pale Blue Dot, Creandum, Planet A, Village Capital, Norrsken VC, Zero Carbon Capital, Hedosophia, blisce, Manta Ray, and Extantia present, just to name a few. OR Join us at the main stage for a bonus hour of keynote talks.
16:30 - Workshops & speed networking
You’ll have a choice of workshops to participate in, led by VOYAGERS with specialist skills to share. There will also be speed-networking sessions, based on participants’ mutual interests (which we’ll collect in advance).
18:00- Networking party, music performances & food trucks
Participate in a Senegalese drumming circle, then enjoy a music set while you network that ranges from the VOYAGERS rock band, acoustic singers, to DJ sets . Do you want to perform? Tell david@voyagers.io
22:00- Official close; shuttles to Didcot Parkway train station
All-day activities
Tours of Harwell Campus
Tours of Harwell Campus led by the people that know it best.
Product demonstrations
Live direct-air capture, climate robotics and lots more.
Future-food tastings
Our future-food curator, Daniel Skaven Ruben, is sourcing the best of new protein and food innovation. Taste the future in this interactive area of the festival site.
Book-lovers' exchange
Bring a book that has inspired you; take away a book that inspired a fellow festival-goer.
The tree of hope
Let’s back optimism over despair — and fill a tree with suggestions for ambitious climate solutions small and large.
Music performances
An evening of music performances — including Senegalese drumming, acoustic and DJ sets, and the VOYAGERS Festival Band.
The Hot Takes Climate-Film Festival
Our favourite documentaries and short films with a climate focus.
Art commissions
Displays by artists exploring climate themes.
Bespoke speed networking
THE HEAT is all about making magical connections. We curated meetings we thought you would find valuable.
Office hours
One-on-one meetings between founders, investors, regulators and more.
