The three finalists in The Good Entrepreneur competition have been announced from a pool of nearly 200 applicants.

The competition, launched in partnership with financial services provider Allianz, was created to find the entrepreneur with the best eco-business concept that is sustainable, responsible and innovative.

The shortlist was determined by a panel of distinguished judges including Nani Beccalli- Falco, president and CEO of GE International, Reid Hoffman, CEO of LinkedIn.com, Dr Armin Sandhövel, CEO of Allianz Climate Solutions, Professor Sir David King, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International.

The three finalists will compete for the grand prize valued at more than €250,000 and will feature in a CNBC television series.

Marco Cremona

Company name: The Hoter
Project Location: Mosta, Malta
Idea: While tourism is an important pillar in the economic development of many countries, it can also be a major contributor to water stress. The HOTER project is a sustainable water recycling system for hotels, large commercial buildings and small communities.
The Plan: A prototype for the system has been built and tested and a patent is currently in its initial stages. The estimated savings arising from a hotel using a HOTER plant amounts to approximately €150,000 a year. It is calculated that a commercial-size HOTER plant has a payback period of around two years.

Matthew Holloway

Company name: Artica Technologies
Location: London, England Idea: Artica is a low-energy alternative to air conditioning that reduces energy usage by up to 90%. The natural cooling, ventilation and heat-recovery system uses ‘thermal batteries’ to capture energy when it is freely available and release it when needed, reducing energy bills.
The Plan: The system has been successfully prototyped, tested and independently verified and is currently undergoing commercial trials with its first customer. A soft product launch is planned for autumn 2009 with a full roll-out around a year later. By year five, Artica is looking at revenues of €12.4m.

Craig White

Company name: ModCell
Location: Bristol, England
Idea: Building carbon-negative homes, schools and offices using renewable materials such as wood, straw and hemp that have absorbed carbon through photosynthesis. The buildings will not only reduce their carbon footprint but also operational energy use.
The Plan: In the UK the target is for 250,000 homes to be built per year. By 2016 all new homes will have to be zero-carbon. ModCell is targeting 0.5% of the housing market in year one and 4% by year three. Gross revenue would be €55m in year one rising to €220m by year three; gross profit margin is projected to be 4%.

Watch CNBC’s series The Good Entrepreneur, Thursdays from 5 November at 23.00 CET.
The winner will be announced at the grand finale, 26 November at 23.00 CET.
Visit www.goodentrepreneur.com for more information.