A NORTH Yorkshire businessman has been announced as 2023’s Green Tech Entrepreneur of the Year at an awards ceremony billed as the ‘Oscars of the technology industry’.

Mike Woodhall, CEO of Harrogate-based Chameleon Technology, won the award in the annual Enterprise Awards, organised by ScaleUp Group in association with the WCIT (The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists).

Now in its 11th year, the awards bring together and honour leading exponents from the UK’s technology sector including entrepreneurs, investors and advisors. The Green Tech Entrepreneur award recognises the achievements of entrepreneurs whose business uses technology to reduce human impacts on the natural environment.

Chameleon makes a range of smart-meters to help homes become more energy efficient and its devices are used by a third of UK homes.

The company has received over £3m of innovation funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to build the ‘proof of concept’ of a decarbonised energy system. It is building an integrated home energy management ecosystem, supporting the Smart Meter rollout with over 10 million in-home display (IHD) devices so far, through its consumer brand ivie.

Launched in 2022, ivie helps people to make smarter energy decisions on using their heating and home appliances, reducing their energy consumption and costs at home, via cutting-edge smart technology and apps. Chameleon’s growing range of apps and products – including the ivie energy saving app, the ivie Bud in-home display, and ivie Charge app for EV drivers – are already used by tens of thousands of people to help them save energy and carbon and reduce their bills.

Mike Woodhall, co-founder and CEO of Chameleon Technology, said: “I’m delighted to have been nominated and won this award but what it truly reflects is the drive and commitment of the team of people at Chameleon Technology. “Everything Chameleon, and by extension the ivie brand, does is to make managing energy simpler, smarter and more personal for as many people as possible. Accurate, real-time energy data is crucial for achieving this. With live data, people can make smart energy-saving decisions on the spot that bring genuine change to how they use energy.”

Close to 50,000 households have now downloaded the ivie app and are successfully using it to monitor their home energy habits, lower energy bills and cut their carbon emissions.

Mike added: “I’m proud to say that Chameleon Technology is a real innovator in the smart energy space and a key supporter of Net Zero and low-carbon technology projects. It’s imperative that consumers are fully engaged with the transition towards carbon neutrality. However, more must be done to get the UK on track to achieve the Government’s environmental targets – and, as a progressive business, we are fully committed to driving this agenda.”