Startup from Fortaleza advances to the EDP Open Innovation Final
Team with preventive wind management maintenance project will travel to Portugal to participate in acceleration process and may win €50,000
An innovative project from Fortaleza (Cear‡) was selected as the finalist of the first EDP Open Innovation Award. The project will now travel to Portugal to undergo a development and acceleration process. Startup company Delfos Predictive Maintenance was selected as one of the country five representatives at the final stage of the competition, where it will vie for a Û50,000 prize. Simultaneously, the team will receive assistance from the EDP Group Innovation Ecosystem to hone their project for the electric power industry.
Consisting of engineers Adam Muniz and Samuel Lima and manager Guilherme Studart (all graduated from Cear‡ Federal University - UFC), the team beat the competition with a project for a failure prediction system to be used in wind power generation equipment. They created a data-linking model that predicts turbine component wear and detects the need for preventive equipment maintenance, a device that can extend the life time of wind energy generation farms in Brazil.
Because wind turbines are mostly produced in Europe or in the United States, they are manufactured to operate under much milder conditions than those obtaining in Brazil, says the project executive director Samuel Lima. Because of this, they undergo accelerated wear once they are deployed here. Delfos" idea is to extend the lifespan of the devices and improve generation performance in wind farms, reducing equipment replacement costs.
"It very interesting to see a major company like EDP creating initiatives for startups," Samuel points out. "On our side, the acceleration process in Portugal will be an excellent opportunity to get in touch with high-quality projects and professionals, with whom we will be able to share experiences and learn about business models that will inspire us to explore our platform even more."
With the goal of fostering entrepreneurship, EDP - a company engaged in energy generation, trading, services and supply - created the EDP Open Innovation competition by merging the EDP Innovation and Energy of Portugal awards. In addition to giving due prominence to projects that can change the market in the coming years, the competition is also a gateway into the EDP Starter program, a set of initiatives that aim to turn good projects into structured and duly funded business models.
Overall, 15 teams from around the world will compete for the award. The winning team will be announced on November 3, after all acceleration program participants present their proposals to an audience made up of EDP employees, investors, and guests. Even if they do not win the award, participants with valuable projects may also be invited to join the EDP Starter program or obtain funds from EDP Ventures, a global investment fund for startups.
"The electricity industry is undergoing a major transformation and the EDP Open Innovation award aims, on the one hand, to foster energy-related entrepreneurship and, on the other, to unravel new ideas that might be developed and/or adopted by EDP in the future," says EDP Innovation Director Jo‹o Brito Martins.
Next stages
Throughout the month of October, the 15 finalist teams will benefit from the Group startup acceleration program in Lisbon. The cost of travel and accommodation in Portugal will be borne by the organization, limited to two members per group.
In Europe, the teams will work at the partnering company F‡brica de Startups to improve their projects and learn more about the FabStart method, which allows participants to simulate their products in the real world. It will be a unique opportunity to share experiences and hone their projects, while also benefiting from regular mentoring sessions with professionals from the relevant areas.
The three best performing teams throughout the competition, according to the criteria laid out by the organizing committee, will be invited to pitch their ideas at the Web Summit, the largest and most important event for startups in Europe.
Regulation and more information about the award are available at:
