Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator: a hundred connections to accelerate sustainability in our cities
More than 50 institutions met at one of the most important events for the European climate ecosystem. The program concludes its fourth edition with around 100 startups supported from 18 countries.
18.12.2024
The Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator programme, led by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and supported by EIT Climate-KIC, part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) concluded its fourth edition consolidating as a relevant project for European startups in the urban climate framework.
Over the course of seven months, the initiative worked with a cohort of twelve startups from countries such as Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Lithuania. These projects received specialized training in business, sustainability and impact skills, establishing valuable connections with investors, mentors and experts, and increasing their visibility at international events such as South Summit, Valencia Digital Summit and Smart City Expo World Congress.
Demo Day: the meeting point for the sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem
The Demo Day was a showcase for these emerging companies to introduce their innovative solutions to an audience made up of investors, representatives of the industry and the public sector, as well as sustainability experts.
With around 50 institutions attending, the event started with a keynote address by Catalina Valentino, a world leader in technological entrepreneurship, smart cities and sustainability, recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, among others. During her speech, she focused on the disruptive value of startups and their potential to shape the future of cities to face climate challenges.
The main part of the day was devoted to startups. After their pitches and following a dynamic to encourage networking and the generation of contacts, more than 100 meetings took place with impact investors, public entities and corporations with a solid strategy towards sustainability.
New edition coming next year
The fifth edition of the Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator programme will be launched in 2025. The main goal will be to promote key aspects for the acceleration of the selected startups, such as connection with the ecosystem, investment, scalability and internationalization. During this seven-month programme, these startups will receive customized support, attendance to main international events in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, training, as well as access to a network of contacts within the entrepreneurial and sustainable sector.
Startups from Europe whose business models are aligned with climate challenges in sectors such as community retrofit, green spaces, renewable energy, urban mobility or information and data are welcome to participate in this new call, which is expected to be launched on January 31st 2025.
This programme has a public-private partnership made up of the City Councils of Madrid and Zaragoza, as well as Ferrovial and the Fundación Zaragoza Ciudad del Conocimiento.
About Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator
The Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator is an acceleration programme launched in 2020 with the support of the EIT Climate-KIC, with the aim of having an impact on climate change in urban areas, as well as the commercialization of clean technologies (clean tech). The programme is aimed at startups that develop solutions with special emphasis on transforming urban ecosystems so that they are climate neutral, from mobility to waste, energy or health. There are already more than 100 startups from more than 18 different countries that are members of the Clean Cities community.
About the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
The UPM is the 1st Spanish-speaking Technological University and the 55th Technological University in the world. This University is characterized by a strong commitment to the SDGs and is working to have a climate neutral campus by 2040. The Entrepreneurship unit aims to stimulate the innovation process in the technological ecosystem. To this end, it has created and developed an "open technological ecosystem" linked to the development of products/processes based on technologies, with 330 high-tech startups created and more than 250 million euros raised in recent years. Under this premise, the University develops activities that include training for entrepreneurs and the incubation and acceleration of startups.
About EIT Climate-KIC
EIT Climate-KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community, using a systems approach to shape innovation to support cities, regions, countries and industries meet their climate ambitions.
Together with partners across the globe, EIT Climate-KIC acts to bridge the gap between climate commitments and current reality by enabling decision-makers and investors to act. They find and implement solutions in integrated ways and mobilise finance. They build skills to accelerate learning and explore innovation, opening pathways to shift mindsets and behaviours. Through radical collaboration, EIT Climate-KIC orchestrates large-scale demonstrations that show what is possible when cycles of innovation and learning are deliberately designed to trigger exponential decarbonisation and build resilient communities.
For further information:
https://cleancities-accelerator.com/
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