Six Brazilian startups, out of 200 applications from all over the world, have been selected as finalists of the 2017 EDP Open Innovation award, a global competition seeking innovative projects to transform the electricity sector and the energy market.

The teams COSOL Condom’nio Solar (SP), CUBi (SP), Enercred (MG), SeGRID (PR), Sii Smart Buildings (MG), and Sunflower Power System (MG) will compete with nine other projects from Portugal, France and Spain for the Û50,000 cash prize. All competitors will travel to Lisbon next month, where they will join an acceleration program with the EDP Group entrepreneurial ecosystem. They will then have the opportunity to develop and test the solidity and viability of their business models.

For the big final, the 15 startups will pitch their solutions before a jury consisting of experts from EDP and its partners, as well as other market specialists. The event will be held on October 26 in the Portuguese capital. In addition to the cash prize, EDP Open Innovation will invite the three best-ranking teams to present their projects on the Web Summit, the most important innovation event in Europe.

As in 2016, Brazil stood out as the country with the largest number of applications. 91 Brazilian teams submitted their projects, almost half of the total. The Brazilian startups offer solutions in areas such as the Blockchain, Energy Transactions, Analytics, Big Data, the Internet of Things, and User Experience.

COSOL, for instance, is studying the creation of a generated distribution marketplace to connect consumers, shared plants, and investors. CUBi works with the industrial sector to make electricity use management more tangible. Enercred offers a clean energy subscription system for household consumers.

As for SeGRID, it has created analytical software to prevent energy theft. Sii Smart Building offers a control system that incorporates 10 technologies available in the world most advanced buildings, making it possible to install these technologies in other buildings at a reduced cost. Finally, SunFlower has developed a sensor that detects the most effective position for installing photovoltaic solar panels.

To learn more, visit: https://edpopeninnovation.edp.pt/

EDP Brasil Innovation Ecosystem

Based on an understanding of innovation as an ongoing process, EDP Brasil - a company engaged in energy generation, transmission, trading, services and supply - has created an ecosystem to foster innovative ideas and processes. In January, with the implementation of a task automation system, EDP has become the first company in the Brazilian electric power sector to invest in process automation.

Identifying innovative projects and potential partners is crucial in this endeavor to anticipate future changes. Supporting and investing in startups is therefore a vital strategy for the company. Besides Open Innovation, the company has recently brought to Brazil the EDP Starter program, an initiative designed to help early-stage startups come up with innovative ideas for the electric power sector.

Internally, EDP Brasil fosters innovation with competitions and initiatives where workers can present new ideas, such as Innovation Day.