Start Up Energy Transition Award 2020: Finalists nominated

15 start-ups from 11 countries will present their business models for  energy transition and climate protection at the "Start Up Energy Transition Festival" taking place on the 24 March in Berlin.

13 February 2020,15 start-ups from eleven countries across five continents have been nominated as finalists of the "Start Up Energy Transition (SET) Award 2020". With submissions including portable battery systems; cross-industry storage systems; software for inspecting power lines; cleaning methods for air conditioning systems or retrofit solutions for buildings: the finalists impress with outstanding ideas that help reduce the ecological footprint of modern societies, advance climate protection and make an active contribution to accelerate  energy transition.

The award is presented by the German Energy-Agency (dena) in cooperation with the World Energy Council. From almost 600 applications, an international jury selected the companies whose business ideas were most convincing in terms of energy system transformation and climate protection. The finalists will present their projects at the SET Tech Festival in Berlin - an international event for start-ups, the energy industry and investors.

The award ceremony for the SET Award winners  will take place on the 24th of March at an evening reception of the "Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue". There, the most innovative strategies and solutions will be awarded in five categories: Renewable Energies and Materials; Digital Energy Systems; Energy Efficiency Solutions;Smart Mobility;Special Prize: Quality Access & Sustainable Development Goal-7. This year's competition for business ideas in the sector of energy transition and climate protection started with a kick-off event in Stockholm, Sweden on 30 September 2019.

In the current round, the award is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economics Affairs and Energy of Germany, the partner countries Canada and Sweden, BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures, Berlin Partner, Elia Group, E.ON, GTAI, InnoEnergy, Inven Capital, Shell and other  sponsors. In the past three years, a total of over 1300 start-ups from 88 countries have participated.

For a complete list of finalists visit the website here. 

Start-ups meet international investors at the SET Tech Festival, 24 March 2020

At the SET Tech Festival the finalists will present their projects in a live pitch. The festival also serves as a forum where start-ups can connect with international companies from accross the full  energy sector, as well as investors and potential customers. A total of around 800 participants are expected to attend - including over 200 start-ups.

Following the opening by Andreas Kuhlmann, CEO of dena, and Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General and CEO ofthe World Energy Council, there will be numerous sessions, presentations and dialogue formats. The opening panel "24/7 for Future" will welcome a large number of speakers to talk about how they are achieving sustainability in their work.

The panel "Innovation in Policymaking" deals, among other things, with policy options for promoting zero-emission technologies. The session "Tech and Nature" will discuss nature-based solutions such as reforestation and seabeds as well as innovations in the field of carbon capture and storage technologies. One of this year's keynote speakers is Matthias Maurer, astronaut at the European Space Agency ESA, who will share his view on energy system transformation and climate protection with the audience from a special perspective. These and many other programme items make the SET Tech Festival once again the meeting place for the renewable start-up scene.