EDP is present at Lisbon's Web Summit for the fourth year in a row, bringing its focus on open innovation, startups and the need to accelerate the energy transition process to Europe's largest entrepreneurship summit.  

These are three of the topics to be discussed during a conversation between Neanda Salvaterra (Wall Street Journal) and EDP CEO Antonio Mexia - tomorrow, November 5, at the Planet:tech stage, at noon. The journalist challenged Antonio Mexia to address some of the planet's biggest challenges during a conversation titled 'Reshaping Business to Save the Planet'.

Startups compete for award at Web Summit
This year, EDP chose this event to host the first big final of its Starter Acceleration Program, the new global accelerator for energy startups, which will bring to Lisbon the top 9 out of 30 finalists. Coming from countries such as Mexico, Australia, Brazil, the US and the UK, these teams have developed solutions for the electrical sector throughout the year, in three modules - Europe, North America and Latin America - and were considered the most promising teams for a final pitch at one of Web Summit's stages, before countless potential business opportunities.

This new accelerator has brought together in a single program the several startup acceleration tools created by EDP in the various countries where it operates. The final will be held on Wednesday, November 6, at 4.30 pm. Finalist projects include a training solution for maintenance technicians, an AI platform to streamline customer support, and software to improve the management of street lighting, among others. In addition to the €50,000 prize that the first winner of the Starter Acceleration Program will receive, the nine startups will have their own Web Summit area to present themselves to the market and do business.

Knockout pitch - Pitch your idea to EDP in a minute

EDP also sees Web Summit as an opportunity to look for highly innovative solutions that will add value to the group's business. After taking the startups' ideas to the next level with last year's Elevator Pitch, EDP invites anyone who wants to introduce themselves to the company to enter an actual boxing ring and pitch their ideas in one minute. Based on the 'mindblowing ideas' concept, EDP wants to hear the ideas of startups that want to risk pitching their projects in this innovative way. This is a great opportunity to work with one of the world's largest players, a leader in renewable energies. 

The most compelling ideas will then have in-depth meetings with the EDP Innovation team, which will be present at Web Summit to look for business and investment opportunities. This year EDP will be focused on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence applied to the energy industry, smart home solutions, and electric mobility acceleration projects. Through EDP Ventures, the Group has three investment funds available: one for Portuguese startups, one for projects in Brazil, and another for the rest of the world. All in all, the Group has €35 million to invest in the most promising projects. 

In last year's edition EDP listened to 170 startups and selected 32 projects for in-depth business meetings. Since Web Summit arrived in Portugal, more than 460 startups were given the chance to pitch their ideas to EDP during the event - a unique opportunity to get in touch with a company that operates in 16 countries and boasts over 11 million customers.

List of startups coming to Web Summit with EDP:

•    Barbara Iot (Spain): A platform for managing and operating IoT devices, enabling companies to manage the entire device life-cycle in a simple and secure manner. 

•    OrxaGrid (United Kingdom): The startup has developed a predictive analytics solution, in conjunction with IoT sensors, which will reduce power grid losses, improve grid efficiency, and detect energy grid fraud.

•    Meazon (Greece): The startup developed an IoT platform and sensors for smart energy management, which will be tested in street lighting management.

•    Colabapp (Brazil): The startup developed a platform that streamlines communication between customers and the organizations in charge of certain assets, such as power distribution, telecommunication and water networks, in order to provide feedback on service malfunctions. The platform will reward customers for their feedback.

•    Loud Voices (Brazil): The startup created a platform that streamlines communication between humans and robots, with practical application in contact centers.

•    Trato (Mexico): The startup developed a digital contract management platform based on blockchain technology, with digital signature, to facilitate the entire procurement process.

•    HESS (Spain): The startup developed software to manage the production of renewable energy, such as solar energy, and its storage in batteries.

•    LExx (Australia): The startup has developed a smart assistant for the training of maintenance technicians, making it possible to provide - in a targeted and organized manner - all the knowledge necessary to perform the technician's duties.

•    Shifted Energy (USA): Their product makes it possible to transform classic water heaters into energy storage units. Put together in the same system, they can be used to store energy on a significant scale.

•    Sepio Sistems (Israel): The startup developed software to detect, identify and block malicious devices. To date, this startup has received a total investment of $800,000 from EDP Ventures.