3.5 Best Start-ups in the CEE Region

In May, the results from the 5 th edition of EIT InnoEnergy’s PowerUp! competition – which saw participation from over 300 start-ups from 24 countries across Central and Eastern Europe –were announced. Danubia NanoTech from Slovakia was named the overall winner by the judges, following a close battle with its rivals.

The company has received a cheque for €50,000, as well as the opportunity to join the prestigious Highway® by EIT InnoEnergy business accelerator. The winner presented a solution for aerial temperature monitoring in the form of a graphene temperature sensor, available as an extremely thin film, applied on any non-metallic substrate. This technology is valuable for EV batteries and for grid battery storages, extending the batteries’ life.

Second place – and a €10,000 prize – was awarded to ATLANT 3D Nanosystems from Latvia. They created aversatile 3D printer for micro and nanochip fabrication. And also developed a unique solution that can rapidly accelerate prototyping for micro-and nanodevices and systems at afraction of current time and cost. Third place – and a€5,000 prize – was taken by V-Chiller from Hungary. They presented a revolutionary cooling device that can chill canned beverages in just a single minute. It uses minimal energy with minimal environmental impact via a vacuum cooling method with a proprietary, environmentally friendly refrigerant.

This edition’s Grand Final was held in Krakow at Impact’19, one of the most high-profile economic events in the CEE region. The panel of judges and wider audience consisted of investors, industry representatives, clean energy experts and international media. 14 start-ups took part in the competition, having won their respective Country Finals to gain entry to the Grand Final. Participants came from Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and Greece. For the first time in the competition’s history, an

Jakub Miler, CEO, EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe

It’s worth emphasising that the PowerUp! competition isn’t just for energy companies: it’s also open to solutions focusing on mobility, clean air technology, heating, cleantech and smart technologies. What distinguishes us from other competitions is that, apart from financial prizes, participants can rely on our comprehensive support, mentoring and entrepreneurial know-how to help take their products and services to the next level.

additional Clean Air Challenge Award was granted at this year’s edition, open to companies demonstrating innovation and pioneering thought in clean air initiatives. This distinction was awarded to Roofit.solar from Estonia that introduced a new type of solar panel, which combines the everyday roofing material with photovoltaic modules. The award was sponsored by Veolia, a company with a positive reputation for creating, developing and implementing solutions which contribute to the sustainable development of cities and industries.

Taking part in PowerUp! also gives start-ups a chance to meet with leading representatives in the energy and cleantech sectors, many of whom are official partners of the competition. This year’s partners included RAFAKO, D.TEK, Západoslovenská distribučná (ZSD) and Enerjisa, who were on the lookout for promising technologies for potential future investment.

Michał Maćkowiak, Member of the Supervisory Board, RAFAKO S.A.

The competition gives us a great chance to learn about the latest trends and technologies in areas that are close to what we do as a company, and that promise to make a real difference to the future of our planet. These include electromobility, renewable energy sources, alternative fuels or energy storage. It is also a great opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with other partners of the competition.