KIC InnoEnergy, an innovation engine for Europe’s energy industry, has today announced that BeON Energy, a Lisbon-based startup, has won the 2nd annual KIC InnoEnergy Iberia Award. Ampere Energy came second and Eneida, also Portuguese, came in third place. The competition aims to find the best potential sustainable energy start-ups which will have biggest social and environmental impact in Spain and Portugal.
BeOn Energy was presented with the award yesterday during the Grand Final held at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona with the jury made up of a team of experts in the entrepreneurship field. Over 62 start ups submitted their innovation into the competition, with ideas coming from across the sustainable energy field, including energy storage, urban mobility, energy efficiency in buildings, smart grids, solar and smart cities.
Josep-Miquel Torregrosa, Business creation officer KIC InnoEnergy Iberia, congratulated BeON Energy on their win, stating:
BeOn Energy is a worthy winner of what was an extremely hotly-contested competition, with many game-changing ideas entered. This competition gives a platform for ideas which may otherwise have gone undiscovered – the creation of innovative sustainable energy start-ups in Iberia is vital to help the region to become economically and environmentally sustainable.
The main keynote speaker of the event, Kenneth (Ken) Morse, Chairman and CEO, Entrepreneurship Ventures Inc. also congratulated the finalists by saying:
The overall quality of the companies and their presentations which I saw today were world class. It is impressive how the KIC InnoEnergy team has relentlessly recruited more and more top notch talent, and then coached them to excellence.
BeON Energy will receive €18,000 in cash and be invited to take part in the KIC InnoEnergy Highway, a programme that transforms business ideas into commercial reality. They will join over 90 other start-ups, being provided with exposure to a network of over 150 key players in the energy field, made up of industry partners, universities and research centres.
https://twitter.com/KICInnoEnergyIB/status/667373566208397312
The runner-up, Ampere Energy will receive €5,000 and mentoring sessions from KIC InnoEnergy whilst third place´s Eneida will receive €2,000.