230 applications from 30 European countries and 1 from Israel. Over 50% of the applicants came from Spain and Italy while 85% of applications were presented by SMEs and the remaining 15% by individual entrepreneurs.
These numbers express the results of the first INCENSe open call, closed last December. Launched by Enel, Endesa, Accelerace and FundingBox with the aim to foster innovation and high tech employment in the European energy sector by accelerating the implementation of CleanTech, INCENSe (INternet Cleantech ENablers Spark) is the only CleanTech and energy accelerator co-funded by the European Commission within its FIWARE Accelerate programme and with an overall budget of nearly 8 million euros, will support overall as many as 42 startups, in two different batches.
In the first one, only 14 will be selected among the 230 applications: independent experts and the INCENSe Evaluation Committee, composed by managers from the partner companies that kick-started the initiative, are launching the evaluation process by the end of this month, which is due to end in April 2015, with a Pitching Day during which the finalists will present their projects and the 14 first call winners will be announced.
Submissions were classified under the following categories: Energy Efficiency & Home Automation, Renewable energy, Renewable Forecasting Solutions, Smart Grids, Energy Storage, Advanced Diagnostic & Automation Solutions, e-Mobility, Cyber-Security or Digitalization of Energy through ICT.
The winning startups will be incubated and accelerated thanks to a non-reimbursable grant of up to 150,000 euros cash each (with no equity considerations) and support services. These services, which will be supplied by INCENSe partners, include: a 6-month acceleration programme, additional coaching sessions, tailored workshops on European funding programmes, access to test beds in Spain (such as Smart City and Zem2All in Malaga), Denmark (such as Next Step City Living Lab in Esbjerg), and Italy, as well as brokerage events during which startups will be able to present their projects to “Business Angel” investors. In addition, winning startups could also be considered for further investments by INCENSe partners.
A second open call will be launched in June 2015, to award 28 additional startups, stay tuned on the Official INCENSe site.
(image credits: kevin dooley )
