Termiz State University actively supports the development of start-ups and innovative enterprises that contribute to the transition towards a low-carbon economy. By combining financial incentives, scientific expertise, entrepreneurship training and access to research and innovation infrastructure, the university creates opportunities for students, young researchers and emerging entrepreneurs to transform environmentally responsible ideas into commercially applicable technologies. Particular emphasis is placed on renewable energy, resource-efficient production, sustainable agriculture, waste valorisation and technologies capable of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
The university's approach recognises that promising environmental innovations often encounter difficulties in securing initial funding, acquiring technical expertise and reaching potential markets. To address these challenges, Termiz State University maintains an entrepreneurship support ecosystem involving its Start-up Centre, Youth Centre, academic research facilities and Scientific and Innovative Developments Commercialisation Department. These structures provide guidance on project development, technical feasibility, intellectual property protection, business planning and opportunities for cooperation with investors and industrial partners.
During 2025, the university's sustainability-oriented start-up portfolio expanded by 12 newly established projects, bringing the recorded total to 15. These initiatives covered renewable-energy technologies, environmental protection, waste processing, advanced materials and sustainable agricultural systems. The growing portfolio reflects the university's efforts to encourage innovative entrepreneurship while directing scientific research towards environmental challenges affecting Surkhandarya Region.
Financial Support for Green Innovation
A significant example of direct institutional assistance was the Eco-innovations–2025 competition, organised at Termiz State University on 18 September 2025 within Uzbekistan's national programme for environmental protection and the green economy.
The competition attracted more than 50 talented students, who presented innovative projects addressing environmental protection, climate-change mitigation, waste reduction and recycling, renewable-energy generation and environmentally responsible technologies.
Financial encouragement formed an integral part of the programme. The university awarded cash prizes across three innovation categories, with first-place winners receiving UZS 6 million, second-place winners UZS 4 million, and third-place winners UZS 2 million each. Nine winning entries received awards totalling UZS 36 million.
Beyond recognising scientific creativity, the competition provided an institutional platform for identifying promising environmental technologies, encouraging their further development and supporting potential commercialisation. The combination of financial rewards, academic recognition and opportunities to present innovative solutions helps emerging innovators move beyond the conceptual stage towards practical application.
The university's financial support for applied clean-energy research was further strengthened during May 2025, when researcher Behruz Muhammadiyev secured UZS 66 million through the Academic Mobility Programme for the project Design and Automation of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation Systems Using Solar Energy in Surkhandarya Region.
The project addresses two closely connected regional challenges: the substantial energy requirements of agricultural irrigation and the efficient use of limited water resources. By integrating solar electricity with intelligent sensors and automated irrigation controls, the proposed technology seeks to reduce dependence on conventional energy sources while improving agricultural resource productivity.
This research support contributes to the technological development needed for future low-carbon commercial applications.
Development of Low-Carbon Technologies
The university's start-up portfolio demonstrates how scientific research can be directed towards environmentally sustainable products and services with practical market potential.
Solar-powered irrigation technology represents one of the most relevant examples. Developed for water-scarce agricultural areas, the innovation integrates photovoltaic energy, soil-moisture monitoring and automated water-distribution controls. The system is designed to optimise irrigation according to crop requirements while reducing reliance on conventionally generated electricity. Its potential applications extend to agricultural enterprises seeking to improve productivity while reducing energy and water expenditure.
Another important initiative is the Biochar start-up, established in 2025 to develop organic-waste conversion technologies. The project uses pyrolysis to transform food residues, leaves and other biodegradable materials into biochar, a carbon-rich product that can improve soil structure, support moisture retention and contribute to long-term carbon storage. This approach creates opportunities to reduce waste-disposal pressures while developing commercially useful agricultural products.
The university also supports the development of advanced aerogel-based gas-storage and eco-sorbent materials. These innovations explore technologies for improving gas storage, separation and purification, with potential applications in energy-efficient industrial processes. By developing functional materials with high porosity and improved absorption characteristics, the project seeks to contribute to more efficient resource utilisation and environmentally responsible technological development.
In building-related environmental technologies, the Automated Air Purifier start-up combines intelligent sensors, adaptive filtration and energy-management controls. The system adjusts its operation in response to monitored indoor air conditions, helping optimise electricity use. Its design also allows for integration with solar photovoltaic power, offering opportunities to reduce grid dependence in educational, administrative and commercial buildings.
The university's innovation portfolio additionally includes EcoRise, a digital environmental platform established in 2025. The initiative connects waste sorting, environmentally responsible products and sustainability education while promoting the conversion of household organic waste into biochar. By linking digital services with resource recovery, the project explores new opportunities for business models based on circular-economy principles.
These diverse initiatives demonstrate that low-carbon innovation at Termiz State University is not limited to electricity generation. It also encompasses cleaner production, efficient resource management, environmentally responsible materials and technologies designed to reduce emissions across different economic activities.
Research Commercialisation and Entrepreneurial Development
Supporting green innovation requires more than initial project financing.
The university's Scientific and Innovative Developments Commercialisation Department provides an established mechanism for helping researchers and emerging entrepreneurs evaluate the practical and commercial potential of their developments. Its activities include market assessment, business-plan preparation, intellectual property assistance, identification of potential investors and cooperation with industrial enterprises interested in introducing new technologies.
Through its Youth Centre and start-up development activities, the university also provides opportunities for entrepreneurship education, technical consultation and interaction with experienced business professionals. These arrangements are intended to strengthen the entrepreneurial capabilities of students and young researchers while facilitating the progression of promising innovations towards viable economic activities.
The university's engagement with regional innovation infrastructure further broadens access to entrepreneurial development opportunities. In June 2025, it publicised the third season of the INNOX business incubation and acceleration programme, organised by the Termez Youth Technopark, encouraging students and aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue structured support for developing technological innovations.
The integration of research, commercialisation and external entrepreneurship opportunities is particularly important for Surkhandarya Region. Its agricultural economy, high solar-energy potential and resource-management challenges create opportunities for technologies that combine commercial value with measurable environmental benefits. University-supported innovations in renewable energy, sustainable irrigation and waste-to-resource systems are therefore relevant not only to academic research but also to the region's longer-term economic transformation.
Contribution to a Low-Carbon Regional Economy
Termiz State University's start-up assistance framework seeks to establish a practical connection between scientific innovation and sustainable economic development. Financial awards encourage the early development of promising ideas, research funding strengthens technical capabilities, and commercialisation services support the transition towards practical products, partnerships and enterprise formation.
The 12 sustainability-related start-up projects recorded for 2025, together with the university's targeted green-innovation competition and financial support for solar-powered agricultural research, demonstrate the breadth of institutional activity directed towards environmentally responsible entrepreneurship.
The university's longer-term objective is to strengthen an innovation ecosystem in which low-carbon technologies can progress from university laboratories into productive economic applications. By encouraging the development of renewable-energy solutions, resource-efficient technologies and circular-economy business models, Termiz State University contributes to reducing environmental pressures while creating opportunities for technological entrepreneurship and sustainable employment.
Through its financial, academic and commercialisation support for environmentally oriented innovators, Termiz State University advances Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, reinforcing the role of higher education in developing the technologies, entrepreneurial capabilities and research-based solutions required for a resilient, resource-efficient and low-carbon economy.