Bulgarian Startups in the Energy Sector Can Apply for Funding in the PowerUp! Competition
On June 19, InnoEnergy, supported by the European Union for Innovation and Technology to the EU, opened the application procedure for the third edition of the PowerUp! competition. Innovative projects in the sustainable energy sector from Central and Eastern Europe can take part in the funding competition. The program is interested in ideas that could have global impact and may contribute to the environmental protection. The application deadline is September 11, and the winners will receive cash prizes of EUR 20 000, EUR 10 000 and EUR 5 000 for the top three places, and access to the prestigious accelerator program KIC InnoEnergy Highway Accelerator to further develop their businesses. The winners will be announced in November. The competition provides contact with key partners and potential clients, which is a key factor in the highly regulated energy sector, and it is of great importance that the business model is validated successfully not only at national but also at international level.
Requirements for participation
PowerUp! 2017 is open for start-ups established no more than two years ago, with a developed prototype. The program is in the lookout for already formed teams and among the prerequisites is the companies to have the ambition to develop their innovations at an international level (respectively the idea to be globally applicable). On the website of the competition you can find description of all application steps, as well as an online application form. If you have any questions regarding the competition, you can also contact Cleantech Bulgaria, a non-governmental organization that coordinates the competition at a local level. The Bulgarian teams will compete with projects from 22 other countries from Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Romania, Greece, Serbia, Turkey, Estonia, Ukraine and others.
The selected applicants will go through a number of training sessions and workshops before the big final of PowerUp! 2017 in Budapest in November. Thus the teams will be given the opportunity to develop their business skills, to establish international contacts with other companies in the field of sustainable energy. From September to November, all selected participants will be trained by foreign mentors and business specialists.
Last year, a total of 99 startups applied for the competition. 10 of them reached the big final in Warsaw, including two startups from Bulgaria – the Hybrid Gyrocopter project powered by Electro Engine – ultra-light gyrocopters with a hybrid engine, as well as the project of Prof. Dr. of Technical Science Venko Beshkov who develops energy production from hydrosulphide that can be extracted from the depths of the Black Sea. You can meet the top three winners here.
The national winners of another competition organized by Cleantech Bulgaria – the entrepreneurial Christmas ClimateLaunchpad for green business solutions- were announced earlier this month.. The competition was held under the Climate-KIC initiative of the European Union, aimed at fighting climate change through innovation. The teams from Bulgaria that won the right to go to the international finals in Limassol on October 17 – 18 for funding of EUR 10 000 are EcoGAF, MicroChar and Sea Harmony. MicroChar will present a technology for biological wastewater treatment, allowing the use of excess sludge for ecologically clean fertilizer. EcoGAF with its LAM’ON product has an idea of change in the printing industry through an innovative paper laminate that is fully biodegradable, suitable for composting and offers an absolute alternative to existing non-eco-friendly analogues. The third company, Sea Harmony, produces innovative mussel reefs to heal damaged coastal ecosystems by restoring the food chain. Sea Harmony is also the Bulgarian finalist of the international competition Chivas The Venture. The top ten teams in the ClimateLaunchpad final for 35 countries will gain direct access to the Climate-KIC Acceleration Program, which is the only accelerator program in the EU to help innovations within the climate field through the commercialization of ideas and products. You can hear an interview with the teams that will represent Bulgaria here.
