Two into Duke's final pitch battle

Mobile Power of Sheffield and Drenched of Doncaster are among just 15 start-ups set to make a final presentation in front of the Duke and global financiers and investors at St James’s Palace.

Two other local firms - Cumulus Energy Storage, of Sheffield, and Twile, of Doncaster, are still in the running, among 42 firms up for the People’s Choice award.

The Duke of York said: “Those that make it through to the palace become part of a closed-in network that receives ongoing support and are pointed in the right direction for finance.”

A spokesman for the Duke said some people would also get the chance to meet the Queen.

The final comes after a qualifying round of Pitch@Palace was held in Sheffield last month.

Seventeen entrants pitched at Sheffield University’s Factory 2050 on Sheffield Business Park, where a panel chose three who went through to a bootcamp for 42 entrepreneurs, drawn from three events held around the country, in Oxford earlier this month.

Drenched of Doncaster has invented a device which vapourises tap water. Just two tablespoonsful are needed to wash hands - some 90 per cent less than normal.

Mobile Power of Sheffield also made it to the final for its mobile phone battery rental firm - aimed at the 500million people who live without electricity.

Cumulus - whose story is told on this page - and secure timeline site Twile are up for People’s Choice.