Biggest European Start-up Competition Announces EUR 30,000 Prize Winne

Log in

Remember me

Forgot your password?
Free trial

Biggest European Start-up Competition Announces EUR 30,000 Prize Winner

Date: June 20^th 2018

Author: Energetika.NET

Category: En.vision

Topic: Renewables , New technologies

Zubax Robotix from Estonia is the winner of this year’s edition of the international PowerUp! competition for cleantech start-ups. The team presented their project, which provides 10% more energy-efficient electric motor controllers for aerospace applications. Their technology allows electric vehicles (especially aircraft) to travel further using less energy from the battery, thus alleviating one of the most significant obstacles in the way of total electrification of all kinds of transport. Zubax was awarded EUR 30,000 and a chance to be invited to the prestigious InnoEnergy Highway® accelerator.

“We applied to the competition because it seemed very relevant, as this contest helps technological advancement for startups as it provides funding and support to innovative ideas, teams. Winning the competition is a very motivating surprise, we knew that we had a good idea and a good product that has potential. We are planning to use our prize and invest it into further development of the product and take our market presence to the next level,” said Pavek Kirienko, Head of Technical Research at Zubax.

“In the seven years since its launch, InnoEnergy has invested in innovative projects with a total value of EUR 2 billion. Thanks to our support, eighty products have so far been brought to market. Now Zubax has this amazing opportunity," says Christo Balinow, Business Development Director of InnoEnergy Central Europe, the Chairman of the Jury.

The title of runner-up and a EUR 10,000 prize was awarded to WellParko from Lithuania. Third place and EUR 5,000 went to the team Neuron Soundware from Czechia.

During the Grand Final in Prague, 15 start-ups presented their solutions before the jury, investors and media representatives. These were the winners of the Country Finals which took place in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece. The finalists were selected from 299 teams from the 24 Central European countries who applied to the competition. The stakes were high as the Highway® accelerator is one of the best programmes in the cleantech sector in Europe.

Zsolt Winkler, Head of the Open Innovation Hub at MOL Group and a member of the Jury commented: "PowerUp! feeds us with fresh, crisp ideas and solutions from all around the region. We are proud to be sponsoring the event for the second time. As we are transforming our company, engaging with start-ups through competitions like this plays an extremely important role in our strategy."

Gul Erol, Enerjisa CTO particularly appreciated the level of the competition and says: "We know we can grow into the fast-changing future with sustainable solutions via innovative and agile startup partnerships. As Enerjisa we are proud to be a part of PowerUp! that unites us with the most striking ideas all around Europe."

20180619 211607 3 ed

Michał Maćkowiak, Head of Innovation Rafako S.A., also thought that the level of competition was very high this year and said: “We are very pleased this year that not only companies from the energy industry, but also those from the spheres of electromobility or smart cities took part in the competition. The competition is developing in the same direction as RAFAKO, in that it is looking for opportunities in addition to the energy industry to diversify revenues in the areas mentioned above.”

What makes PowerUp! stand out from other start-up competitions are its Bootcamps: before the Grand Final, the participants spent two days testing their business models and taking their presentation skills to another level.

“There is inspiration all around us!” said Alex Hunter, a digital brand and customer loyalty expert, as well as a keynote speaker at this year’s grand final in Prague, on the sidelines of Tuesday’s event, which was organised by Europe’s leading energy accelerator InnoEnergy and which Energetika.NET attended as a media partner.

This article is available also in Slovene.