The eight preselected projects (*) for the 2015 EDP Innovation Award - an initiative that rewards talented young entrepreneurs in the field of clean technologies in the energy sector - have already been announced. The themes of energy efficiency, information technology, electric mobility and solar generation stood out in the total of 29 applications for the award.
'Get your ideas going' is the motto of this 7th edition of the EDP Innovation Award and it seems to have inspired several work groups. Recognition of the potential of these nine projects takes them now to a second stage of the competition, where the development of a business plan will be the major challenge over the coming months.
Support for the development of innovative ideas is the main goal of this EDP Group project, which already has had several success stories throughout its history. The initiative is a challenge to innovation encompassing different sectors and stakeholders such as financiers, universities, technology centers and personalities from the national academic community.
The initiative is one of EDP's primary strategies to promote technological innovation and entrepreneurship. Participating and gaining recognition in this competition allows developers to access to a broad partnership program throughout the process of the value chain via EDP Starter.
EDP Starter, EDP Group's incubator, has been one of the main assets of the Group in supporting entrepreneurship. About 30% of startups supported by the EDP incubator come from the EDP Innovation Award which has proven to be an important driver for ideas to effectively leave their concept stage and give rise to new businesses and to create new jobs. Some examples are the success stories Zypho, Omniflow and Vertequip, which, despite not having won the EDP Innovation Award, are currently successful, growing companies, targeted by venture capital investment and going through significant processes of international expansion.
* The eight preselected projects:
- Greenkub
- Synergy in water-heating appliances
- Stoock
- Hybrid Solar Dryer
- S SW - Smart Solar Water
- Plug Plus
- Hygrothermal device
- Brain-e