Gonçalo Faria first became interested in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship in 2011, during his MBA, where he recognized innovation was an area where his business experience and his creative and performing arts background could be tied together.
He spent the following years working in strategy consulting in Portugal, Angola and South Africa, being regularly involved with innovation projects and reports and mentoring startups, before dedicating himself fully to innovation when joining Beta-i in January 2018.
Since joining Beta-i one year ago, Gonçalo has taken on the challenge of directing Smart Open Lisboa, which was a perfect fit for his personal and professional ambitions.
It was my initial project and I don’t imagine a better fit with my purpose in life, to bring technology and innovative solutions to better people’s lives. This is a program that has a clear focus on having a positive social and environmental impact, and that is very important for me.
When he joined Beta-i, he became involved in Data Pitch, an EU-funded Open Innovation program that aims to promote a data sharing space in Europe by putting startups working with data from corporate partners based on specific sectoral or data provider challenges.
Joining the open-innovation team was a clear path. To him it’s more and more clear that innovation can only happen in collaboration: when you get together several stakeholders with complementary views, information, needs, solutions, technologies.
Open innovation programs aim to structure that collaboration between two very important agents of change: startups and corporates.
“In a program like Smart Open Lisboa, we have several corporates within a specific sector (either Mobility or Housing/ Real Estate for the verticals we have already implemented) collaborating with the startups and among themselves. And on top of this, we have the City Hall that gives the program a political/ institutional backing and provides the program with access to the city resources and spaces for testing innovative solutions.”
He reasons that considering these factors, you can find advantages for all the stakeholders, which is fundamental to a successful project.
“The City Hall is able to improve citizen’s life and the city management with innovative solutions and to be understood as a friendly city for startups and innovation.”
But it’s in partners that we see the biggest changes: “The corporate partners, are able to tap into the global source of innovation in their specific sector and test new disruptive solutions in collaboration with startups and other program partners and we’re also seeing a budding capacity to handle innovation – it’s learning with peers coupled with learning by doing when it comes to innovation skills and mindset.
As for startups, “they get access to a group of corporate partners, typically hard to reach, and the potential to test a solution with them and eventually get a partner that can give them easy access to the market and jumpstart their growth.”
What we really aim for on our open-innovation programs is for real value added pilots to happen and for the best deals to come forward either investment or partnership deals.
He also took on another big challenge: to direct Smart Open Lisboa and to steer it into its current version – with different verticals in each edition and a very tight alignment between the program verticals and the strategic priorities of the city. “When Smart Open Lisboa started in 2016 it was structured as a one single program dealing with several smart city sectors. We soon realized that it would be much more effective if we created specific vertical programs. It would be much more aligned with the partner’s core business and would present a much stronger value proposition to the startups.”
Implementing the first vertical, Mobility, last year was a challenging feature, but one that paid off: the team immediately realized that the new structure made much more sense. “Not only the partners were much more aligned in their goals, but when they got everyone together for the bootcamp week, there was an amazing level of collaboration and exchange of ideas. Between startups and partners, there was a group of more than 40 companies in the mobility sector, together in the same room, exchanging ideas and collaborating. That’s an amazing feat in itself!”
After a successful Mobility vertical, the Housing vertical has launched and is now preparing the bootcamp. They hope to re-create the “magic” that happened in the previous edition.
We are now running our second vertical, SOL Housing, and we are seeing the same level of commitment and collaboration from the partners… we are really looking forward to getting the startups in the mix.
When asked what are the main reasons that make the program interesting for startups, validation is the top of mind answer. “The main reasons both revolve around validation. They are looking forward to validating their product, experiment their product or solution in a city like Lisbon, and make it resonate with clients. And also, validate their business – does the solution work for possible clients and are they willing to pay for it? They also have the opportunity to make a deal with a big client, that will get them access to a large market.”
Besides the fact that having the engagement of the City Hall and municipal companies is vital for the success of smart city solutions, Lisbon is also a great city to test these innovative solutions: “It’s a European capital, with a similar regulatory and market environment as the rest of the EU, but with a very manageable size in terms of area and population. And when you are piloting new solutions this becomes a critical factor, you want the pilot to have enough users and exposure to be measurable, but it shouldn’t be too big to handle. You would probably shy away from testing new solutions in a megalopolis but you would probably not want to do it in any backwater or ghost town.”
And then, sometimes, magic happens, and startups that come to test solutions end up falling in love with the city and understanding the benefits of setting up shop here. Lifestyle and quality of life, cost of living, availability of highly skilled developers and engineers at very competitive salaries compared to other European cities, and the general easiness of doing business here. Lisbon is trendy nowadays, and there surely are very strong reasons for that.
Besides the opportunities that the program brings to innovative startups, the impact it brings to the city is one of the reasons it is such compelling work for him. “There are two levels of impact. The first one is the cultural change and more openness to innovative solutions and working collaboratively from different departments of the city hall and the program partners, which is really important if we want to have a lasting impact.”
The second level of impact is the direct change provoked by implemented pilots. Just looking at the last edition of mobility, Gonçalo recalls several: “We now have a better understanding of the flow of people and vehicles in the city and the impact of traffic in air quality, and that can lead to more informed city management and investment decisions. There has been a reduction of traffic (thanks to better parking solutions, a reduction of corporate fleets in the city and additional personalized mobility alternatives like e.scooters). Citizens have now a better “user experience” of the city – there are several apps helping them make their mobility choices, and citizens with reduced mobility now have better service.”
Citizens have now a better user experience of the city.
In this sense, it becomes hard for him to choose the best innovative solutions the program brought to light. “It’s hard to choose because there are many of them, and all of them really interesting and impactful.
But some come to mind: Shotl(a mobility-on-demand solution for people with reduced mobility being developed with Carris), Eccocar (a shared corporate fleet solution, doing a pilot both with Ferrovial and the City Hall), E-floater(a last mile solution, using electric micro scooter that is doing a pilot with Ferrovial on the Lispolis area of Lisbon, and that had a great involvement with the City Hall in defining solutions to avoid all the major issues most other electric mini scooter startups are facing) and Meep (a journey planner with the most complete and accurate info on Lisbon mobility operators, that allows you to choose the best way to get anywhere in the city).”
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The circular economy has been gaining momentum in recent years. The urgency created by the impact of consumerism on the planet’s environment has created urgency in governments and consumers to support and make the necessary infrastructure available.
So far, the development of tech has been focused on supporting and improving the traditional solutions that already exist and enable circular economy: waste collection, sorting, and recycling.
However, new developments and advanced technologies can and will bring the next level of innovative solutions to enable an (almost) complete circular economy.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality can be useful to in several levels of the circle. This tech can help several activities performed become more efficient, reducing its costs. It’s also useful in the prototyping processes by visualizing design prototypes in 3D, and testing and redesigning manufacturing processes, reducing or eliminating entirely the use of some raw materials.
In real life:
Scope, a Canadian firm specializing in AR solutions for industry, has developed a software tool called WorkLink that can transform traditional paper-based work instructions into Smart instructions, It uses animated, intuitive, 3D computer-generated imagery that overlays on top of the real world.
Internet of Things
Internet of Things (IoT) systems can be an enabler of circularity, offering assistance in the process of resource recovery. Smart objects can give info about their location, status or need for upgrade. IoT can also be used in predictive maintenance (determining the condition of in-service equipment or machinery in order to predict when maintenance/servicing should be performed) to maximize product life span and reduce costs.
In real life:
San Francisco and London have installed solar-powered automated waste bins that alert local authorities to when they are full; creating ideal routes for trash collection and reducing operational costs by 70 percent.
Big Data
Big data play a big role in making industries and supply chains more efficient. It can be very useful for route optimizations, reducing risk, streamlining manufacturing and making supply chains more transparent, by enabling businesses to make decisions based on accurate data-driven insights.
In real life:
DHL has a Big Data Business Platform that supports all its activities. It uses data collected by sensors, on top of getting data from the financial industry, public authorities, retailers, SMEs, and its own research. DHL uses the technology for route optimization, strategic network planning, operational capacity planning, risk evaluation and resilience planning, customer loyalty management, and environmental intelligence (statistics on pollution, traffic density, noise, parking spot utilization, etc.)
Platform Economy
Platform Economy refers to digital marketplaces. Amazon, Alibaba, etc, already changed the way consumers buy industrial products. It’s a concept that can be applied to help implement what is called ”Industrial Ecology” – the concept that the waste of one industry can be the input of another one.
In real life:
Organix an online marketplace for organic waste. It links organic waste producers with biogas operators to facilitate energy recovery from such waste.
Product as a Service
This is a business model in which manufacturers retain control of the product throughout their lifecycles – instead of selling the products, they lease them to costumers. This means that the responsibility of disposing of the product at the end of its lifecycle shifts from the consumer to the manufacturer. It also opens the possibility of recycling or refurbishing the product to give it a longer life span.
In real life:
DriveNow is a sharing service that offers a fleet of the latest BMW and Mini vehicle models. Users can locate a car and unlock it using an app, use it, then park it again.
Blockchain
Famous for its use in Fintech, Blockchain represents trust in transactions, since there is no third-party intervention. It can be leveraged by the circular economy too: blockchain technology can be used to make supply chains more transparent by tracking products from the manufacturers to the shelf. This access to information can help customers be informed about how the products were made and shipped, empowering them to make environmentally friendly decisions.
In real life:
Provenance uses blockchain to make supply chains more transparent, It builds a traceability system for materials and products. It gives consumers information about suppliers by tracing the origins and histories of products.
Upcycling
Circular Economy is all about closing the loop, but unfortunately, not everything can be recycled back to a raw material state to be re-used. Upcycling enables creative re-use of products for different purposes (without breaking them down). Companies can find alternative inputs for their products, and customers can find ways to re-use their products once they’ve reached the end of their lifecycles.
In Real Life:
Samsung has introduced Galaxy Upcycling, which is a program that enables the embedding of IoT in old smartphones to be used in households. On their website, they suggest ideas for using the phones, and they offer the software and the hardware (sensors). For example, the device could be used to monitor fish tasks, check conditions, and give food to fish while the owner is away.
IBM Research published their predictions about the 5 innovations in the food supply chain that will change the way we consume food within the next five years.
Within the next five years, the Earth’s population will cross the eight billion mark for the first time. Our complex food supply chain—already stressed by climate change and finite water supply—will only be tested further. To meet the demands of this crowded future, IBM researchers are exploring new technologies and devices, scientific breakthroughs, and entirely new ways of thinking about food safety and security.
The 5 predictions:
Farming’s digital doubles will help feed a growing population using fewer resources.
Blockchain will prevent more food from going to waste.
Mapping the microbiome will protect us from bad bacteria.
Dinner plate detectives: AI sensors will detect foodborne pathogens at home.
A radical new recycling process will breathe new life into old plastic.
Often seen as a stagnated industry, the ports and shipping industry is now waking up to the challenges they face, and the new opportunities based on technology that is in their reach. Their importance in the geo-spatial economy is now as important as it was in the Silk Route Map.
Why is the ports revolution happening now?
Pollution: It is, unsurprisingly, the biggest motivator towards the necessity to innovate in this area. Although it has been banned in every other industry, the shipping industry is still allowed dangerous low-grade, high-sulfur fuels (cheaper than low-sulfur fuels) – it produces 13% of the world’s sulfur emissions and 15% of nitrogen oxides.
Regulation: Health is the main concern behind the International Maritime Organization’s decision to slash the permitted sulfur content in ships’ fuel from 3.5 to 0.5 percent. It is estimated that shipping’s cheap fuels cause around 400,000 premature deaths a year through heart and lung diseases and asthma in 14 million children, and the use of cleaner fuels could reduce these number by half.
Ocean protection: The world has awakened to the destruction of our oceans and maritime life, and its implications in the economy.
Maritime accidents: the need for using technology to reduce and extinguish maritime accidents that result in the loss of money, life and maritime species.
Three big innovation trends emerging
Autonomous shipping
The biggest impact of tech in shipping will have to do with the automation of shipping and autonomous ships. 78% of maritime professionals expect the first autonomous ships in the next 10 years and 56% believe that autonomous ships will be commonly deployed in merchant shipping in the next 11 to 20 years.
Autonomous shipping would bring great benefits to the industry: they could serve isolated islands, inhospitable routes navigated and remote areas accessed, much of it with diminished risk to seafarers. And since 80% of maritime accidents are the result of human error, autonomous shipping would be a safer solution than crewed shipping.
Ports of the future
It’s safe to say that the ports industry is no longer a stagnated one. Ports are becoming hubs connecting sea and land and striving for efficiency, supporting customers, promoting frictionless trade and enabling highly efficient processes for cargo movement. The goal is clear: to maximize efficiency and support international supply chains.
“Modern ports have become multimodal distribution megahubs which link sea, river, canal, road, rail and air transport routes, vital for international trade and linchpins for the global economy.”
Racounter.net
Digital & Robotics
Digitization in its many forms will be a key asset of the revolution happening in ports and shipping. Data, information and how it’s handled will be at the core of the way ports operate in the future.
Not only robotics will take physical tasks away from humans (directing them towards more safe and high skilled jobs), they will also embark on tasks that cannot be undertaken by humans (deep-sea exploring, for example).
Complex systems of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to collect data around tidal streams, wind strength and visibility, will help reduce vessel waiting times and automatically guide crewless ships. The availability of such data-driven analytics increases operational efficiency by improving tactical decisions. Further uses of such technology include providing shippers with greater visibility into market and pricing trends and helping minimize the dramatic boom-and-bust cycles that have traditionally plagued the industry.
The importance of the Blue Economy
The revolution in ports and shipping is closely connected to the desire to drive the blue economy. The blue economy represents the exploitation of ocean resources and preservation of the marine environment for economic growth. According to the Foresight Future of the Sea Report, the gross value added of the blue economy is projected to double to $3 trillion by 2030. This value is linked to industries such as trade, tourism, aquaculture and renewable energy.
The benefits of this growth are important to sea connected countries: the creation of jobs, reducing poverty and building resilience against environmental challenges, like natural disasters and climate change.
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Free Electrons is a truly global accelerator backed up by an alliance of energy utilities, committed to supporting energy entrepreneurs and startups to transform the energy market with next-generation ideas.
Energias de Portugal (EDP)
EDP is an energy producer, distributor and retailer with around 12 million customers in Portugal, Spain and Brazil. EDP has 25GW of power production capacity of which 5GW is hydro and 10GW is wind. This makes EDP the 4th largest wind power producer in the world. The renewable power business is present in 14 countries including the US, Brazil, Spain and the UK.
What are they looking for?
Renewable power and distributed energy resources;
Electric cars;
Data management and AI;
Digitization processes.
Opening up the utility world to the startups, providing them with a global customer base, accelerating deal execution with the utilities, that’s what Free Electrons is all about. I can’t think of a better opportunity for a startup operating in this space.
Luis Manuel
Executive Board Member,
EDP Innovation
innogy New Ventures LLC
innogy SE is a European energy company, offering sustainable and innovative energy solutions. With its three business areas of renewables, grid & infrastructure as well as retail, it addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonized, decentralized and digital energy world.
What are they looking for?
Solutions active in the data space.
We started Free Electrons because there is a deep need in our industry to access and source innovation. Free Electrons, therefore, has a very transaction-oriented approach – generating deals between startups and corporates is the prime objective of Free Electrons. We assembled a unique consortium of innovative utilities that spend billions every year in running and transforming energy systems globally.
Florian Kolb
Managing Director,
Innogy New Ventures LLC
Origin Energy
Origin is an Australian integrated energy solutions provider with leading positions across energy retailing, power generation and natural gas production. Origin has a rapidly growing renewable energy portfolio and was the world’s first energy company to adopt all seven ‘We Mean Business Coalition’ initiatives, joining a worldwide group of non-government organizations, signatory companies and institutional investors committed to leadership on climate change. Origin is also scaling up its capabilities in digital metering and data and analytics to create more innovative and differentiated energy solutions for its millions of customers.
What are they looking for?
Renewable energy;
Data-based technology.
Origin sees the enormous potential of combining the best ideas with those companies capable of delivering them at significant scale. By leveraging all the expertise of the many partners involved we are confident extraordinary outcomes will be reached.
Anthony Lucas
Executive General Manager, Future Energy and Business Development,
Origin Energy
SP Group
SP Group is a leading energy utility group in the Asia Pacific. It owns and operates electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses in Singapore and Australia, and district cooling businesses in Singapore and China. SP Group is committed to providing customers with reliable and efficient energy utility services. More than 1.4 million industrial, commercial and residential customers in Singapore benefit from SP Group’s world-class transmission, distribution and market support services. These networks are amongst the most reliable and cost-effective worldwide. For more information, please visit spgroup.com.sg follow us on Facebook
What are they looking for?
New areas of energy transformation and transition;
New technologies and new business models for their customers, that allow them to reduce costs.
SP Group is committed to providing high quality, sustainable lifestyle for customers. We are excited to partner respected international utilities and experienced accelerators, who have extensive innovation and R&D experience, to support promising start-ups around the world. Together we can develop transformational energy solutions to provide customers with more choices, and help them to save energy and costs.
May Liew
Vice President, Strategic Development,
SP Group
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO)
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TSE: 9501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is the largest utility in Japan serving millions of homes and businesses. Worldwide the company has more than 43 subsidiaries and 19 affiliates in 4 countries and employs approximately 41,525 people. Consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, totaled 5.8 trillion Japanese yen. The company was established in 1951 and is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
What are they looking for?
New technologies;
New business models;
Transmission and distribution;
Renewable energies.
TEPCO is excited to work with all of the global utilities and startups participating in the Free Electrons program. We value the opportunity to learn from their innovative business models and technologies, and hope to leverage these learnings for the benefit of our customers.
