The Yotta Energy Startup is the big winner of the Starter Business Acceleration 2020
The renewable energy storage solution created by this North American startup was awarded 50 thousand euros. The Portuguese Ydata.ai was also present as a finalist in the program
North American Yotta Energy, which developed a scalable and decentralized solar energy storage solution, was the big winner of the second global edition of Starter Business Acceleration. This startups' acceleration program created and promoted by EDP, together with the companies Verbund and TurningTables (Cuerva Group), and managed by the innovation consultant Beta-i, aims to encourage collaboration and to support startups and small to medium-sized companies (SMEs) from around the world in creating relevant solutions for the energy industry. The final stage took place in a virtual ceremony, which you can watch here. The North American startup was awarded a prize of 50 thousand euros to invest in its business.
EDP, through EDP Ventures, recently announced the investment in Yotta Energy, which is also already developing a pilot project to test its innovative solution in the group's business. In addition to the winning startup, EDP has already confirmed 10 other pilot projects and is evaluating another 22 from among the startups which participated in this edition of the Starter Business Acceleration. These projects will bring new solutions to the various business areas of the company, in different regions.
The program started in early February with a 64% increase in the number of applications compared to the previous year. Of the 820 startups from 74 countries which applied for the second edition, 30 were chosen to participate in three virtual modules lasting three days - in Latin America (Brazil), North America (Houston) and Europe (Vienna) - and to work together with partner companies to develop pilot projects which would solve their business challenges.
Due to security measures in place across nearly the whole world to deal with the current pandemic, the program opted for a 100% virtual format. Toward this end, we developed a digital platform capable of simulating a real and physical environment, with startups and utilities featuring their own space. Despite the challenges, the adaptation was successful.
“Another Starter edition that exceeds all expectations and confirms the global positioning of the program. Starter is a reference program that promotes open innovation projects between EDP and the best early-stage startups in the energy sector worldwide. Adaptation to a virtual format enabled the involvement of more than 100 employees from the EDP group in the different regions where we are present in unprecedented numbers. This Starter edition also proved that it is possible to innovate literally from 'home', with startups from all over the world, in different time zones, eye to eye, establishing relationships of trust across the screen, even at a distance. You have to be ambitious, passionate about innovation and technology, and above all very professional and strict," highlights Carla Pimenta, Startup Engagement Director at EDP
In line with EDP's strategic areas, the candidate startups presented their projects in the following categories: Clean Energies, Customer-Driven Solutions, Digital Innovation, Energy Storage, Smart Grids, and Innovation in Internal Processes. The nine finalist startups will have the opportunity to participate in this year's Web Summit.
As startups finalistas foram as seguintes:
Innovative robotic technology that provides more efficient, faster and safer Opertation & Maintenance services in wind farms.
EET’s hardware system, SolMate, is a plug-in photovoltaic and storage device for every home. It can detect the power consumption of the household from any wall socket without any further hardware.
YData aims to support a world led by data, enabling organizations to guarantee their users' privacy and be compliant with privacy regulation. The use of YData’s Data science helps companies to develop data-driven solutions faster, while keeping their data private and easy accessible for data science teams.
Aplanet empowers organizations with cloud-based solutions that allows them to manage, measure and report their social and environmental impact.
ClimaCell provides best-in-class Weather Intelligence and operational tools to enable better business decisions and efficient operations for power companies.
Yotta Energy is an energy storage company pioneering a new "panel-level" format that is simple, modular, cost-effective, safe and durable. They are on a mission to lead the world’s transition to 100% clean renewable energy by simplifying its keystone: energy storage.
Energy Source works with a solution to reduce, reuse and recycling Lithium Ion
Batteries and through their green solar lamp they can store the electricity to
provide lighting everywhere.
Nuveo is able to automate manual processes as well as interpret contracts or any documents or images through AI, making their clients less dependent on manual back-office work.
Plataforma Verde can control all of the environment’s KPI’s in the generation and distribution point of view. They can also control the discarded materials during the lines maintenance.
Find out more about the program at http://theenergystarter.com.
