Nanomaterial specialist firm Danubia Nanotech has been declared the winner of EIT InnoEnergy’s PowerUp! sustainable energy competition.
The annual PowerUp! competition aims to reward sustainable technical innovations across the energy management sector, allowing startups to network with potential investors and compete for the opportunity to win a €50,000 cash prize and a place on EIT InnoEnergy’s business creation programme for startups, The Highway. This year more than 300 teams from 24 countries submitted entries to the competition.
EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe CEO Jakub Miler said: “It’s worth emphasising that the PowerUp! competition isn’t just for energy companies: it’s also opened to solutions focusing on mobility, clean air technology, heating, clean tech and smart technologies. What distinguishes us from other competitions is that, apart from financial prizes, participants can rely on our comprehensive support, mentoring and entrepreneurial know-how to help take their products and services to the next level.”
Danubia Nanotech’s winning project, chosen from a pool of 14 finalists by a jury at the Impact 2019 conference, is an aerial temperature monitoring solution which uses a graphene temperature sensor to extend the battery life of electric vehicles (EVs) by providing accurate real time data on the temperature of EV batteries. The reliability and efficiency of EVs is highly dependent on the monitoring and regulation of battery temperature, particularly during the charging process, which generates a great deal of heat.
Patrik Krizansky, CEO of Danubia NanoTech, said: “We applied to the competition because we have been seeking a smart investor like EIT InnoEnergy that not only provides financial investment, but also supports us with business development through its network. With this award, we are very excited to start fine tuning the product to the needs of customers and commercialise it.”
Microfabrication technology developer Atlant 3D won the €10,000 second prize in the sustainable energy competition for a 3D printer designed to build prototype micro- and nanochips. The Clean Air Challenge award, introduced this year to reward innovation in clean air projects, was presented to Roofit.solar for a new type of solar roofing panel.
