Tuesday 9 April 2019

Solutions sought for ‘next biggest energy priorities’

Innovators with proven technology concepts that can help tackle the “next biggest energy priorities” of mobility and the circular economy are being invited to bid for funding.

EIT InnoEnergy, Europe’s sustainable energy engine, is offering grants and commercial expertise to SMEs to help take these innovations from lab to launch.

It has introduced two new thematic fields: Energy for circular economy and Energy for transport and mobility, aiming to bring together entrepreneurs, innovators, industry and universities to develop the next big innovations.

That could include smart cities and grids, storage, energy efficiency and renewable technologies.

Through its European network of industry experts, businesses and researchers, InnoEnergy also helps innovators identify market needs and potential customers, shorten the time to market for innovative ideas and turn prototypes into commercial products within five years.

Diego Pavia, CEO of InnoEnergy said: “Our Investment Round initiative supports start-ups that can address some of the most pressing challenges facing our energy system today such as mobility and sustainable lifecycles. Since launching the Round in 2011, InnoEnergy has invested €222 million [£191m] in 120 projects – resulting in €4 billion [£3.4bn] of forecasted sales.

“Building on successes such as NorthVolt, EOLOS and Bio-Eco-Matic, we’re now looking to hear from the next wave of innovative energy start-ups who we can support to market with a mix of funding, and technical and commercial resources.”