InnoEnergy on Lisbon leg of Energy Union tour

Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič meets InnoEnergy’s and its innovators in Portugal, while celebrating the country’s progress and potential as a clean energy leader

InnoEnergy, Europe’s sustainable energy innovation engine, was proud to welcome Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to Lisbon this week, showcasing the clean-energy contribution of some of the Portuguese innovations it has supported. As a Vice President of the European Commission (EC) and head of the Energy Union, Commissioner Šefčovič was in Portugal as part of his Energy Union Tour, with the aim of seeing first-hand some examples of Portugal’s leadership in clean energy innovation.

Commissioner Šefčovič visited InnoEnergy in Lisbon, meeting with Andreia Fernandes, Portugal Country Manager, InnoEnergy at the Tivoli Hotel Avenida. Over dinner, the Commissioner took in presentations about the organisation’s work in Portugal and from some of the innovative start-ups that InnoEnergy has supported.

Šefčovič says: “What I appreciate with InnoEnergy is its tailor-made support to help entrepreneurs develop promising and efficient energy solutions while always mindful that they have to conquer markets.”

InnoEnergy – itself funded by the EU – exists to accelerate clean energy innovation in Europe. Rather than simply provide investment however, InnoEnergy supports its innovators with guidance towards commercialisation and by coordinating partnerships with its extensive network in industry, academia and government.

“It was an honour to join Commissioner Šefčovič and to showcase some of the fantastic innovations we’ve supported,” says Fernandes. “To our innovators in Portugal and the rest of Europe, we hope that this shows how seriously the Commission takes clean energy innovation and demonstrates the value of InnoEnergy’s top-table network of policymakers and industry influencers.”

The following day, Commissioner Šefčovič met with one of InnoEnergy’s Portuguese success stories, ProDrone. The Lisbon-based company uses highly customised unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), specifically designed for inspecting wind turbines in a safer, more cost-effective way. The company has been a long-term participant in the InnoEnergy programme, beating 105 other European clean energy innovations to win the 2015 InnoEnergy The Business Booster competition.

“InnoEnergy had a decisive role to play by being an enabler of the Energy Union through innovation.”

InnoEnergy has supported a host of other successful Portuguese clean energy innovations including PV microinverter creator, BeOn, and supercapacitor maker C2C New Cap – both of which also attended the dinner meeting. InnoEnergy also currently runs four Portuguese Masters’ programmes with 90 students enrolled, helping to create the next generation of the country’s clean energy innovators.

“Portugal has already led the way in so many areas of clean energy – just look at Principle Power’s world-leading floating offshore wind technology, WindFloat,” says Diego Pavia, CEO, InnoEnergy. “We helped commercialise that project and are working to help Portuguese innovators lead in so many more. Commissioner Šefčovič’s kind words are a great validation of our work.”
About InnoEnergy

InnoEnergy is the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe.
We support and invest in innovation at every stage of the journey – from classroom to end-customer. With our network of partners we build connections across Europe, bringing together inventors and industry, graduates and employers, researchers and entrepreneurs, businesses and markets.

We work in three essential areas of the innovation mix:

• Education to help create an informed and ambitious workforce that understands the demands of sustainability and the needs of industry.
• Innovation Projects to bring together ideas, inventors and industry to create commercially attractive technologies that deliver real results to customers.
• Business Creation Services to support entrepreneurs and start-ups who are expanding Europe’s energy ecosystem with their innovative offerings.
• Bringing these disciplines together maximises the impact of each, accelerates the development of market-ready solutions, and creates a fertile environment in which we can sell the innovative results of our work.
• InnoEnergy was established in 2010 and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).