- The Finnova Foundation has organized a hybrid webinar to present the Accelerathon’s rules and the challenges of decarbonization in cities that participants will have to solve.
- The registration period for the RES4CITY Startup Europe Accelerathon will remain open until Wednesday, March 6th, coinciding with the last day of WEX Global.
21/02/2024, Brussels. Finnova Foundation presented yesterday, Tuesday 20th February at the European Parliament in Brussels (Belgium) the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON, an initiative that is part of the European project RES4CITY. Finnova, as a partner of the project and leader of the Accelerathon, was in charge of detailing the bases of the Accelerathon and the challenges to which the participants will have to respond. The webinar was held as part of the event “Innovate4Change: Transforming Societal Challenges through Social Entrepreneurship”, organized by the European project LADESE, under the invitation of MEP Eleni Stavrou.
The CEO of Finnova Foundation, Juanma Revuelta, explained the objectives of RES4CITY Startup Europe Accelerathon, an open innovation methodology designed to promote ideas related to sustainability and circularity in urban environments and where other entities are invited to collaborate with the development. “Sustainability, water and waste management, renewable energies and the fight against climate change are one of Finnova’s big bets, which are reflected in Next Water Generation, the foundation’s initiative to spread information on water management and protection, and in its participation in several European projects focused on these issues,” Revuelta explained. The foundation’s CEO encouraged entries for this competition, which seeks innovative ideas to boost energy efficiency. “The deadline to participate is March 6 and will coincide with our presence at Wex Global, one of the most important events in the international water and energy sector,” he said.
The Accelerathon revolves around four challenges to which participants must offer solutions that are in line with the values of sustainability and circularity projected by RES4CITY. The Foundation’s European projects and sustainable cities manager, Patricia Tejada, and the European projects assistant, Laura Velasco, presented the challenges and the different stages of the Accelerathon. These are the challenges of the RES4CITY Startup Europe Accelerathon:
- The first challenge, “Optimizing electric vehicle charging efficiency through smart energy solutions”, is looking for smart energy storage proposals to optimize energy flow, ensuring efficient and cost-effective charging of electric vehicles, reducing grid stress during peak demand and stabilizing the power grid and integration of existing infrastructure. In addition, it will also consider ideas that integrate information and communication technology to improve renewable energy efficiency, and those that propose solutions to establish a legal framework that accelerates the adoption of more efficient energy mobility practices. The selected participants with the best ideas will be presented at the S-MOVING fair to be held on September 20 and 21 in Malaga (FYCMA).
- The second challenge, “Achieving efficient soil and land management by changing business operations in line with circular economy principles” calls for alternatives that address efficient soil and land management by changing operations in line with circular economy principles. In addition, it will also value those ideas that include the revaluation of household organic waste to generate compost for the creation of vertical gardens.
- The third challenge, “Designing green hydrogen production projects”, focuses on the design of well thought-out green hydrogen production projects that adequately manage impacts on water supply and soil use.
- The fourth challenge, “Revaluation of greywater in the urban environment”. The citizen challenge is to convert wastewater – rainwater, air-conditioning, shower, washing machine and dishwasher water from domestic use to save water in drought by reusing it for toilets, watering gardens and urban orchards, or street sweeping. The solutions will mitigate the impact of climate change by saving drinking water and water purification processes.
The selected ideas will be presented at the Greencities fair to be held on September 20 and 21 in Malaga (FYCMA). Participants will be able to attend specialized forums on the current challenges of the urban environment and will be eligible for a grant of 2 million euros from the EU.
Stages of the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON
Those interested with innovative ideas related to the above-mentioned challenges can register for the Accelerathon until Wednesday, March 6 at 23:00 (CET), coinciding with the last day of the WEX Global event, which will bring together multiple projects and stakeholders advocating for sustainable water management. Registration can be done through this link..
Once the registration period is closed, the Accelerathon groups will be created during the month of March and the competition will take place between April and June. Participants will have access to the RES4CITY community’s network of contacts and develop ideas that can have an impact in the field of urban greening. In July, a semi-final will be held to select the best developing ideas. The award ceremony will take place between October 9 and 12, during the European Week of Regions and Cities. The winner will receive a European Acceleration Ticket, allowing them to access funds from various European programs to materialize their project.
About the RES4CITY project
RES4CITY is a project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe Program, with a duration of 36 months and a budget of 2.5 million euros. It aims to promote the development of renewable energy and sustainable fuel technologies in urban environments, through collaboration with stakeholders and the promotion of sustainability and circular economy.
About the Finnova Foundation
Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organizations and partners in the member countries to communicate and spread European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programs such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.