World’s largest sustainable energy accelerator EIT InnoEnergy launches global call for climate change startup battle

EIT InnoEnergy, the world’s largest sustainable energy accelerator, announced the launch its first ever global call for startups and is looking to invest in US innovators whose ideas are tackling climate change. The call is open to start-ups worldwide in areas including but not limited to: renewable energy, energy efficiency, heat and transport, to solve the decarbonization challenge.

The US, like the rest of the world, is currently facing many climate challenges, but it’s also home to the most innovative start ups in the world. As such, InnoEnergy wants to encourage those breakthrough ideas to accelerate the energy transition across the globe.

With its eyes firmly fixed on the global stage, EIT InnoEnergy predicts the attention of innovators to be clearly on heat and transport in 2020. The two sectors have proved harder to decarbonise with both contributing to growing issues around clean air in countries like India, the US and mainland China.

Competitors can enter across any vertical including: renewable energy, energy efficiency, heat and transport, batteries and solving the decarbonization challenge. The top 20 innovators will receive business support to accelerate their ideas, which can include technology development, market access and development; team creation or funding access – the winner will receive $110K.

Founded in 2010, the Netherlands-based InnoEnergy is the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. The company has supported more than 300 innovative sustainable energy solutions, invested €222 million in innovation projects and attracted nearly €120 million in funding for the start-ups we support not to mention nearly 960 alumni who have graduated from our Master’s and PhD School programs, many of whom work for prestigious companies such as Tesla, Siemens, Total and Procter & Gamble.

Commenting on the launch, Elena Bou, Innovation Director at EIT InnoEnergy said: “We are at an environmental crossroads. Action needs to be taken today to ensure we reach our global carbon reduction targets – which is why we’ve expanded our call beyond Europe. Delhi has just declared an air pollution emergency and in the US, the number of polluting motor vehicles on the roads has grown steadily to more than 270,000. We are reaching a tipping point – we need to tackle climate change together, and through our trusted ecosystem of more than 460 partners, we can do just that.”

EIT InnoEnergy’s current call for start-ups will offer innovators worldwide the potential to improve conditions not only in Europe, but in their home countries too. The process will see the top 20 innovators receiving business support to accelerate commercialization, with the winner receiving €100K,000 (equivalent to $110,000). Start-ups from Asia and the US are of particular interest, where clean air and vast internal combustion engine vehicle uptake are causing a noticeable impact on society.

Bou adds: “The US and Asia are facing their own climate challenges, but they are also hot beds of innovation. We want to access these great minds to accelerate the energy transition across the globe. From clean tech hubs like San Francisco and Boston in the US, to leaders in renewable energy like Singapore, we know their start-ups are on the cusp of monumental break throughs. We are ready to partner with these innovators to lead the charge to change our energy landscape for the better.”

Interested startups can apply here. Applications close on December 19 2019.