Naturgy (natural gas) launches the fifth edition of your entrepreneur support program ‘Connecting Energy’, which recognizes projects with an impact on the energy transition with focus on sustainable innovation.
With ‘Connecting Energy’, the company collaborates in the impulse and growth of projects that generate a structural change in the energy system and contribute to the energy transition, in areas such as efficiency and responsible consumption, renewable gases, sustainable mobility, circular economy or waste management.
Naturgy offers financial support of 25,000 euros to one of the participating projects to validate its solution thanks to a pilot within the company, and a second prize of 5,000 euros for the startup with better evolution within the program. In addition, the chosen projects are part of a 6 -month mentoring program that connects them with the company’s professionals, which provide entrepreneurs from their knowledge and their wide and varied experience, orienting them about the needs of the sector and helping them through specific training to develop their company plan, define their growth strategy and give them the impulse they need to achieve their objectives.
Jesús PasResponsible for Naturgy innovation, highlights the ‘Connecting Energy’ program as a promoter of sustainable innovation. «Our goal is to develop an ecosystem that allows addressing a collaborative and open innovation, capable of responding quickly to the signals of change in the environment,» says Chapado.
Naturgy’s goal with this program is to help and promote entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs to consolidate their positive impact solution on the environment, as a sign of the company’s commitment to innovation and society.
A consolidated incubation program
During its four calls, ‘Connecting Energy’ has contributed to accelerating projects of various kinds, from technologies linked to efficiency in operations to sustainable mobility solutions. This platform has incubated more than 40 startups through a team consisting of more than 50 mentors and specialists with experience in all areas of the value chain of the energy sector, allowing them to develop a business plan, create a concept test or prototype their solution.
In the first edition, the winner was the project Clevergywith a platform for marketers and installers that allows the improvement of the relationship with customers and centralizes operations. The project Evorgywith a digital platform oriented to operations and maintenance for installers of the solar sector, was the winner of the second edition. In the third edition, the recognition was for the startup Calpechwith a project for the development of iron nanoparticles applied in environmental decontamination and energy valuation.
Technology to reduce energy consumption in biogas plants
Last year, the winner of the fourth edition was the Sevillian startup Biomixingan initiative arising in 2022 as a spin-off of the Department of Aerospace and Fluid Engineering of the University of Seville, and that is dedicated to the optimization of bioreactors.
This project consists of a disruptive mixing system for bioreactors, with application in sectors such as sanitary or energy. In the latter case, this technology can be used to reduce process times and energy consumption of current biogas plants. After being winners, Biomixing will work with Naturgy at a pilot plant to test its technology, although the previous tests carried out advent a 50% reduction in energy consumption in renewable gas generation plants.
To Inés HerreroFounder of Biomixing, «having a demonstrative pilot plant is for us a very important milestone, which will mark a before and after in the biogas sector, and will allow us
The deadline for the presentation of candidacies ends on October 19 and the information is available on the program page here.