SERIES OF DANUBE ENERGY+ TOOL PILOTS SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED ONLINE!

We are happy to announce that during the past few months the project partners conducted a series of Danube Energy+ Tool Pilots.

Due to the given circumstances surrounding COVID-19, most of the partners decided to organize the virtual implementation of the Pilots.

The German Danube Energy+ Tool

The first successful example was accomplished by the German partner InnoEnergy who adapted the planed program from physical to virtual and managed to implement the Pilot in the period 17-20.03.2020. The Demo day was held on 23rd of April and provided the Young Innovators with the opportunity to pitch their sustainable business ideas. As a result of the Pilot activities, four of the participating young innovators had the opportunity to pitch in front of a jury of cooperating partner AXEL - Der Energie-Accelerator and by doing so to apply for their Team Development Program. The program lasts 12 months, and offers intense mentoring, co-working spaces, access to facilities for lab & field tests and access to investors and funding programs. All applicants pitched successfully and will take advantage of the Team Development Program during the next 12 months

The teams from the pre-acceleration program are already on their way to successful business endeavors! Amongst the 18 finalists of e4 TESTIVAL Start-Up Award “Transforming Mobility 2020” have been two of the Young Innovators participating at the German Danube Energy+ Pilot: Discovere.de and EaVy Systems. The event took place under the patronage of Winfried Hermann MdL, Minister of Transport of Baden-Württemberg and the focus was to revolutionize the mobility industry with innovative ideas for both urban and rural areas. Discovere.de was chosen as one of the three award winners! These Young Innovators have created a solution that enables joint usage of energy resources for electric cars in multi storey houses, consisting of innovative charging technology and user-friendly software for accounting.

The Bulgarian Danube Energy+ Tool

The Bulgarian Danube Energy + Tool was implemented in the period 10 – 24.04.2020. During that time 4-days workshops were realized, and 10 teams took part of the pre-acceleration program where they gained knowledge about business modelling, value proposition and customer segment. As a result of their efforts, the young entrepreneurs pitched their developed business ideas in the energy sector during the virtual Demo Day of the pre-acceleration program Danube Energy + Tool.

The Demo Day was held virtually on April 30th, 2020. Some of the young innovators’ green business solutions include:

- Solar-powered food dehydrator targeting small-scale farmers;

- Car-sharing phone app;

- Sustainable advertising services, making our urban environment greener and more pleasant;

- An electric car with batteries made from recycled materials;

- Hybrid energy systems and automation;

- Producing leafy greens vegetables in a sustainable and innovative fashion by growing them in controlled

- Fully digitalized partially automated flight approvals and flight data sharing system environment while having a clean production free of pesticides;

- Large electricity and soil producing compost for industrial quantities;

- А trading platform, that will be able to buy solar PV in big quantities, with better prices;

- Education platform to raise awareness on an interactive level about environmental issues

The event was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders, both from Bulgaria and abroad

The Romanian Danube Energy+ Tool

Eight teams finished the Pilot program realized by the Romanian partner Digital Transformers, in the period 13 – 27.05.2020. The program was conducted online and included business mentoring sessions, with a focus on developing a business model, sales and pitching. The Romanian Demo Day was held online via live stream, a link to the event could be found here https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=252019146065870&ref=watch_permalink

Among the presented green business solutions of the young innovators were:

- EV fast-charging network in the southern region of Romania

- a new design for electric motorbikes, with two electro-motors on each wheel

- development of a vertical wind turbine for use in urban and rural environments

- a solar-powered wheelchair

- digitalization of the receipt received at supermarkets and stores

- creation of a recycling station for electronic waste coupled with an application that uses gamification

- micro-farming solution for restaurants that allows the growth of plants

- a hydrogen solution for home/building heating

The interest in the teams from the Danube Energy + program is growing rapidly and they were invited to present their sustainable business ideas to successful business media. The team Tapohub was interviewed with one of the biggest publications in Romania, Ziarul Financiar and shared about his business venture with building a new hybrid wind turbine model, coupled with solar panels. Link to interview here:

https://www.zf.ro/zf-it-generation/zf-it-generation-adrian-pop-fondator-tapohub-din-cluj-lucreaza-la-un-19296199?fbclid=IwAR13fmGdDT-bhC3lPe3mm_WnXkzGglHZ5iK1-RfhyiSvIfcGs8buSsHnTP0

The Croatian Danube Energy+ Tool

After the very successful online workshops that took place in a period June 15 – 18.06.2020 implemented by Optimizacija, as part of Danube Energy+ Pre-acceleration program, Croatian Young innovators presented their ideas at the ONLINE Demo Day, June 19, to an audience consisting of investors, representatives of business support organizations and other stakeholders interested in their ideas. During the virtual event, 5 teams of young innovators presented their sustainable business ideas to an audience consisting of investors, representatives of business support organizations and other stakeholders. The innovative business ideas in the energy and sustainability sector were:

- A new platform which connects restaurants, bars, etc., with end-users

- A radically better pre-selection tool

- Concept of Automated Structural Design

- Decentralized platform for highly efficient cloud gaming

- Eco-building material

The Serbian Danube Energy+ Tool

Project partner SEE ICT conducted Danube Energy + Tool also online. The program for young innovators started on the 8th of July and covered topics such as Problem discovery and Ideation, Lean Canvas methodology, Lean Startup methodology, Roadmapping and sales strategies, IP and legal aspects, Finances and Investments, etc.

Demo Day was held virtual on the 21st of July!

In front of the audience of investors and stakeholders, the teams of Young innovators pitched their sustainable business ideas, among which:

- developing a web platform for optimal market planning and risk management in the field of solar and storage system investments.

-  developing floating boxes made of recycled materials, as well as ready-made raw materials for building ecological houses.

- a biotechnological startup focused on the development of advanced microbial products intended for sustainable and organic agriculture.

What is coming soon?

We are looking forward to the next upcoming activities:

- Three more Danube Energy+ Tool Pilots will be implemented soon by Slovenia, Ukraine and Slovakia
- Danube Energy+ Hubs - development of Hubs strategy through which young innovators and key regional players will connect and grow a sustainable energy future together.