Startup Europe Awards

Finnova and The municipality of Vilamarxant launches an open innovation Accelerathon on Waste2Energy

Monday, 15 June 2020 – The municipality of Vilamarxant (Valence, Spain) launches the Accelerathon Waste-to-energy (WASTE2ENERGY) alongside the Centre d’Emprenedoria i Innovació del Túria (CEI Túria). It is an open innovation programme enshrined in the framework of the CIRCULAR ECONOMY STARTUP EUROPE AWARDS that counts with the support of the DG CONNECT at the European Commission and the Startup Europe Accelerator of Finnova Foundation.

This programme will start next Thursday, June 18 at 17:00 (CEST) with an informative webinar in which the funding possibilities for innovative projects or ideas regarding waste-to-energy will be introduced. The winners of the Accelerathon Waste-to-energy Startup Europe Awards will be eligible for funding from the LIFE programme 2020: up to €2 million will be allocated per project. In addition, this programme will grant a European acceleration ticket and will give candidates the possibility to participate in the Startup Europe Awards.

The competition will start after the launching webinar. The different multidisciplinary teams will be mentored by experts and will receive online training on Life+ projects in order for them to get to the final round. The winning project will be presented after registration to the Life programme – Environment on July 14.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, the aim of the Accelerathon Waste-to-energy is to find innovative solutions focused on limiting significantly waste generation and promoting the principle of circular economy.

Our society is living a transition period towards a greener, more carbon-neutral, circular economy. Although efforts have been made at a national and European level, waste generation is not decreasing. According to the New Circular Economy Action Plan of the European Union, the whole set of economic activities generates up to 2,500 million tons of waste each year.

This is the reason why the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations includes Sustainable Development Goal 7 and 11 that address the issue of waste-to-energy. These SDGs are focused on sustainable consumption and production patterns based on the transformation of non-recyclable waste into energy, such as electricity, steam or hot water, for domestic or industrial purposes.

The Accelerathon is a programme addressed to civil servants and policymakers at municipalities, organizations and government agencies, trade unions, institutes of technology, universities, innovative companies with patents and corporations with environmental challenges that could be faced through LIFE Programme funding and a technological push.

You can now register to the informative webinar held next Thursday, June 18 at 17:00 by filling the following form:

https://form.jotform.com/201621640087347 

Please register here if you want to participate in the Accelerathon: https://form.jotform.com/201621756281351

About

Accelerathon

Accelerathon is an acceleration programme for innovative projects fostered by Finnova Foundation. It is also a methodology designed by Finnova that consists of looking for solutions and funding through an applied, online open innovation system that binds together all the actors from the innovative ecosystem.

The Accelerathon also works under the methodology of the LIFE Programme of the European Commission. The challenge follows the SDG of the United Nations and brings support to other programmes related to the fight against COVID-19 and legionella, among others.

What is Startup Europe Awards?

It is an initiative of the DG CONNECT at the European Commission implemented by Finnova Foundation. It counts with the support of the European Parliament, some members of the European Committee of the Regions, and the European Economic and Social Committee.

What is Startup Europe Accelerator?

It consists of a European, second-level acceleration programme specialized in the support of incubation programmes linked to regional and national entrepreneurship. The aim is to help startups access EU resources in order to internationalise their project, and break into the market through European projects, mentoring, networking, lobbies, legal advice and international communication.

Ajuntament de Vilamarxant

The municipality of Vilamarxant in collaboration with the Centre d’Emprenedoria i Innovació del Túria (CEI Túria) provides users with access to services and information, like the ones related to the Accelerathon Waste-to-energy.

It has a global perspective concerning projects, institutions and different types of entities that work in the same domain all over the world.

Alongside CEI Túria, Vilamarxant’s main objectives are to support innovation, to extend new technologies to society and to become a regional and international leader in this domain.

http://www.vilamarxant.es

Centre d’Emprenedoria i Innovació del Túria (CEI Túria)

The CEI Túria aims to enhance entrepreneurship and new technologies at a regional and international level. Its main objective is to materialize and experience new ways of living, working, learning and interacting through entrepreneurship and innovation.

· It promotes entrepreneurship, the creation of startups and employment generation.

· It promotes new lines of business activities connected with innovation, new technologies and emerging sectors.

· It creates a community of entrepreneurs where projects and experiences can be shared, and where synergies and alliances with other municipalities can be established for the development of collaborative projects.

· It helps organizations and projects to develop business plans and look for public, private or European funding.

· It contributes to the revitalization of the productive fabric in Vilamarxant, the region of Camp de Túria and neighbouring areas.

El CEI Túria represents an open innovation model where entrepreneurs, creators, the civil society and organizations cooperate in order to create wealth, employment and knowledge for the combat of this new ecosystem’s challenges.

http://ceituria.com

Finnova Foundation

Finnova is the European foundation for innovation funding. Its main goal is to promote the cooperation between public and private sectors through the best low-cost, technological solutions, in order to address social challenges such as employment, entrepreneurship, the SDG of the United Nations, circular economy, waste recovery, sustainable tourism, and the fight against climate change.

http://finnova.eu/

Contact:

  • For any question, please contact:

Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation.

Email: info@finnova.eu.Telephone: +32 475 97 42 77

  • Press Head contact details:

Lola Bordás, Head of Communication and Marketing at Finnova Foundation. Email: cmo@finnova.eu. Telephone: +34 619 11 02 66