A moss-powered movement: how Green City Solutions is redefining clean air in cities
Winner of the Creative Business Cup 2016, Green City Solutions is a shining example of how creativity and science can merge to tackle one of humanity’s most pressing challenges: air pollution.
Selected from among the world’s most promising startups, the German greentech company took home the top prize at the Creative Business Cup Global Finals in Copenhagen. Their innovation—living, moss-powered air filters designed for urban areas—not only won the main award but also captured special prizes for “Creative Business Health” and “Sustainable Living.”
Roots in the Smog: Founding Story
It all began in March 2014, when four friends—Peter Sänger, Liang Wu, Dénes Honus, and Victor Splittgerber—met in Dresden, Germany. With backgrounds in horticulture, architecture, mechanical engineering, and computer science, they were united by a single frustration: cities were choking in pollution, and conventional solutions weren’t enough.
Liang, who had experienced intense smog in Shanghai, noticed how dramatically his health improved after returning to Germany. Together with Peter, whose expertise in moss cultivation came from generations of horticultural work, they envisioned a biotech-driven way to clean city air—by harnessing the natural filtering power of moss.
Their first prototype was built in a university workshop with borrowed tools and boundless optimism.
Biotech Meets Smart Cities: The CityTree
Their flagship innovation, the CityTree, is a 4-meter-high bio-tech filter that integrates living moss cultures with IoT-enabled systems like sensors, fans, and automated irrigation. Each CityTree cleans as much polluted air as up to 275 urban trees, targeting fine dust, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide—within a 50-meter radius. It’s compact, energy-efficient, and even acts as urban furniture.
In 2020, the team unveiled updated versions—CityBreeze and WallBreeze—tailored for different urban contexts including facades, transit stations, and indoor spaces.
Fueling the Vision: Investment & Scale
Initially funded through founder savings, grants, and pilot installations, Green City Solutions gained its first major backing from Coparion, a German co-investment fund supported by KfW and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs. This was followed by a €2.35M crowdfunding campaign via Companisto, giving them a solid financial base to commercialize across Europe.
Their projects are also supported by EU programs like Horizon 2020, helping validate their moss-based tech through scientific studies with institutes like Leibniz TROPOS—which confirmed their systems can reduce fine dust by up to 82% and lower ambient temperatures by up to 4 °C.
Going Global: Impact and Recognition
Since its founding, Green City Solutions has installed its bio-filters across Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, France, and even Hong Kong. They’ve been recognized as Germany’s most innovative company in the energy & environment sector, and their work has been spotlighted in global media as a model for clean-tech infrastructure.
But the turning point remains the Creative Business Cup win in 2016, which validated their creative roots and helped them attract early believers, partners, and investors across borders.
Future Outlook: Growing Fresh Air
Now headquartered near Berlin, Green City Solutions continues to grow its “living infrastructure” in cities where clean air is no longer a given. With climate change intensifying urban heat and pollution, the demand for nature-based solutions is rising—and the team is ready.
Their mission is simple but ambitious: “To provide clean and cool air to as many people as possible.”