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.
American Electric Power
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s more than 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 33,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,200 megawatts of renewable energy.
Joining the Free Electrons accelerator program gives us access to the world’s most innovative technology entrepreneurs in the energy space. Our long-term strategy includes building smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom products and services to our customers. We’re excited to help cultivate the cutting-edge energy solutions that are being developed around the globe.
Nicholas K. Akins
Chairman, President and CEO, AEP
AusNet Services
A major player in the Australian energy industry. We are Victoria’s largest energy delivery service business owning and operating approximately $11 billion of electricity and gas distribution assets that connect into more than 1.3 million Victorian homes and businesses. The energy landscape is transforming and so are we. We are looking for new ways to move energy with significant investment in creating energy solutions to meet tomorrows.
What are they looking for?
Ways to make the core business more efficient: ways to run the networks, particularly in distribution, more efficiently, and the ways the business can commercially benefit from new opportunities;
New business models.
We are passionate about helping entrepreneurs bring their technologies, ideas and products to the global marketplace, and look forward to mentoring them as they turn their energy start-ups into viable businesses that enable us to transform the energy industry globally.
Chad Hymas
Executive General Manager,
AusNet Services
CLP
CLP was founded in Hong Kong in 1901, at a time when electricity was still a novelty worldwide. Today we power millions of homes and businesses across the Asia Pacific regions. In Hong Kong, we operate a vertically-integrated electricity supply business providing a highly-reliable supply of electricity to 80% of the city’s population. Outside Hong Kong, we invest in the energy sector in Mainland China, India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Australia. Our business includes power generation, transmission and distribution, and electricity and gas retail activities. Our goal is to meet Asia-Pacific’s energy challenge in a sustainable manner from one generation to the next.
What are they looking for?
Microgrids, energy storage, distributed energy, solutions for the home for consumers;
Energy management in buildings today – so that developers, management, tenants can have visibility and control of how they consume energy and how they move to lower carbon intensity and a better sustainability footprint.
The Free Electrons Accelerator Program enables CLP to work with some of the world’s smartest and most dynamic innovators on solutions to the 21st century’s digital energy challenges. With our industry leadership across the Asia Pacific markets, spanning Greater China to Australia, CLP is excited by the opportunity to partner with the best start-ups to create transformative new energy technologies and applications for individuals, businesses, cities and governments.
Austin Bryan
Senior Director – Innovation,
CLP Holdings Limited
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
DEWA is committed to promoting Dubai’s vision through the delivery of sustainable electricity and water services at a world-class level of reliability, efficiency and safety in an environment that nurtures innovation with a competent workforce and effective partnerships; supporting the sustainability of resources.
What are they looking for?
New revenue streams;
AI, data-based services.
Dubai is at the centre of a region that is emerging as a major force in the global economy, and it is seen as a leader in promoting innovation, sustainability and economic diversity. Dubai is keen to encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve a green economy. Public-private partnerships are key to this, as is the goal to make Dubai a global hub for green finance and a green economy
His Excellency Saeed Mohamed Al Tayer
MD & CEO,
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
Electricity Supply Board (ESB)
ESB is Ireland’s leading energy company, operating across the full spectrum of the electricity market: from generation, through transmission and distribution to supply. In addition, ESB extracts further value at certain points along this chain: supplying gas, using our networks to carry fiber for telecommunications, developing electric vehicle public charging infrastructure and an international consultancy arm which has worked in 120 countries globally.
What are they looking for?
Decarbonization;
Finding new smart solutions for their customers.
We are excited about the prospect of working with a pool of startups from across the world, learn from them and offer them the opportunity to trial and develop their products/services in Ireland and the UK. At ESB we are very focused on bringing new cutting edge solutions to our customer base.
Jungle is an innovative startup that is on a mission to reduce uncertainty. Wind turbines, power transformers, and heavy industry machinery – they use tailored AI models to identify when assets are underperforming and predict when they will fail.
They started out in Delft (Netherlands) in mid-2016, where Alexander Helmer and his co-founder, Tim Kock, were trying different AI technologies – they didn’t wanna focus on a single-purpose product – looking for something that could serve a broad spectrum of applications. Through their network, they landed on a case where they ended up developing their predictive system – that blew their minds and found a place in the world for the Jungle.
Looking to scale their business outside of the Netherlands, they looked into Portugal as a talent-filled pool and a great place to unleash the Jungle. They met Beta-i when they casually walked into a TGIF one day – and liked it so much that they decided to stay.
They’ve been in our hub since April 2017, so we went to talk to Alex Helmer, co-founder of Jungle, them about their experience in Free Electrons.
ReThink: I heard you were not big fans of accelerators or open innovation programs before FE. Why was that?
Alex: (laughs) You’re talking to the right person. The other team members were a lot more open-minded, I was the one that was a bit against accelerators. I think many accelerator programs focus on the first stages of starting a business: defining a product, defining a customer, validating your idea, business model canvasing, these types of things. That was my association with accelerators, that it focusses on early stage – on validation of your concept. So I was not too excited.
RT: So, what made you join Free Electrons?
A: It was actually Rodrigo Zwetsch [Beta-i’s community manager] that came into our office and said that maybe we needed to look into this. I was not fully convinced, I thought that we should keep with our existing customer database and spend time on building it out more. Tim and Silvio were actually more open-minded so we decided to dig a little deeper into what the program consists of. Turns out that, at that moment, it was a very different accelerator than what we thought, and there was actually a really good balance between the time you put into it, and the alignment that it had with the company that we were at that moment. Because we were still validating some of our ideas back then, we wanted to try it on different customers, we wanted to see how our solutions scale from one customer to the next. And this was actually a great opportunity to start testing that because there were a few very big and important utility companies globally present at the event. And we could see how long it takes to turn a solution if we go from A to B and also test it on C, how long does that take.
Turns out that, at that moment, it was a very different accelerator than what we thought, and there was actually a really good balance between the time you put into it, and the alignment that it had with the company that we were at that moment.
RT: So was that your main goal going into the programme, to test?
A: To test our solutions technically for sure, but also to test commercial viability. There are some areas that we work in where the way the stakeholders work together is fairly complex and closed, so we needed to understand better how we fitted in into that. And I would also say, to just create a network worldwide because if you serve, for example, utility companies, or factories of heavy industries as a customer, you can only grow so far within Portugal and the Netherlands, so you need to start looking beyond borders.
RT: You partnered up with EDP and also innogy. What were the pilots you worked on about?
A: At Jungle we currently have 3 products/verticals that we’re working on: one is on wind energy and wind turbines, one is more generic electrical assets like power transformers and circuit breakers, things typically in the electrical grid, and the third one is heavy industry, which is factories of basic materials like steel. The technology and the predictive capabilities that we build, they work pretty much the same for all three of these, so that’s why we have this big approach.
With innogy we worked in wind. The pilot was basically to show them what our predictive technology could do in an offshore farm and what it could do in an onshore farm, and given that result, how can we integrate it to make commercially viable for them.
With EDP, it has been a longer trajectory with them. They have a very big portfolio and different business units and all of them have transformers. And these things may fail – not that often! – but if they do they can fail pretty catastrophically and they’re expensive. We’re taking a look at a big spectrum of data and when you’re able to grab all this data and put it together in a logical way, you can start predicting when these failures might happen and also, with that, how you should operate them to extend their lifetime. So, it’s maintenance and also operations, in the sense that how do you operate them to have less maintenance.
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RT: What was it like to work directly with corporate partners?
A: We had worked with utilities before in the Netherlands, on smaller projects. I think it’s a very interesting trajectory to go through. At Jungle, we’re all quite young – the oldest person is not even 35. So what we see of the world is how we operate. And this is the way we expect companies to work. Of course, we know that a utility company works differently than we do, especially big organizations. But, it is still interesting to observe the dynamics of how a company like that works and how you interact with them and what are the steps that you need to take in order to get a partnership with them.
RT: There must be a big gap between the way they work and the way you do. Did Free Electrons help you bridge that gap?
A: Yeah, there is a big gap. I mean, if you look at the footprint of the company, it’s completely different, it has to be different.
I think the interesting thing is that most of the people in the Free Electrons programme that are from the utilities’ side are from innovation departments, so they’re sort of in-between the two, and I think that’s a really good bridge because without that bridge it would very difficult for us to partner with the utility.
We’ve had really good relationships with the innovation people of the [Free Electrons’] companies we’ve worked with. EDP, obviously, because they are also an investor of ours, we’re next door, we’ve got a good relationship. But also with innogy – I mean, Tim went to Hamburg in October for an update, and he stayed at the Innovation Manager’s house – crashing in his guest bedroom – and he even picked him up at the airport at midnight. It was a very funny dynamic for sure, but without those people, it would be very very difficult.
RT: You developed a long term relationship with the utilities there, they are still your partners and your clients, right?
A: Yeah, of course! But I think this is also a bit of a given – as a startup, at least in the area we are, you have to develop a long term partnership with a company like that because the projects that we do are so big that it doesn’t make sense to do this in the short-term. In these projects, we only worked on a couple of wind farms for them, but they have dozens of wind farms, so we need to push for that.
I think it’s something that outside of a programme like that, it would have taken us just so much time.
RT: What surprised you the most in the program?
A: I think what maybe surprised me, and this is given my perspective of accelerators earlier on, it is how effective the time was that we spent during those four weeks. It was an intense programme for all four of the phases, but just putting all of these people in the same room, having a decent schedule, knowing what the goals are… I think it’s something that outside of a programme like that, it would have taken us just so much time. So, I guess, that’s the thing that surprised me, being against accelerators (laughs)!
RT: In the end, did it change your mind about accelerators?
A: (laughs) Yes, totally. I’ll confess to that!
In the end, we just asked Alex if he would recommend Free Electrons to other startups looking to go global. Here is his video reply:
BlueTech Accelerator is opening up this Wednesday, 30th January. It’s an open innovation program connecting talented startups with key players in the sector to create a pioneering ecosystem of innovation and business acceleration for the Blue Economy sector. The first edition will focus on Ports and Shipping 4.0.
What is the Blue Economy?
Blue Economy relates to the exploitation and preservation of the marine environment – it aims for sustainable use of the ocean’s resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and the health of the maritime ecosystem.
The Blue Economy is reflected in several different activities: renewable energy, marine transport, fisheries, waste management, climate change, and tourism.
BlueTech aims to leverage new technologies to help impact positively in these activities, with new technology or new models.
The first edition of the programme is focussed on Ports and Shipping 4.0, and looks for technologies that can be applied for solutions in the following areas:
Smart Shipping
E-navigation
Artificial Intelligence
Undersea Cloud Computing
Nanotech
Sea Traffic Management
IT for Green shipping
Ocean IoT & Sensors
IT for Energy Efficiency
Ports Automation & Robotization
Autonomous Ships
IT for Propulsion and Power Generation
AI/Machine Learning
Robotics
Scuba Droids
Big Data & Analytics
IT for Green Ports
Autonomous Systems
Drones
Self-cleaning and Self-repairing Materials
Why should you apply?
A challenging industry
The maritime industry is a big and old one, which means that there are plenty of opportunities for innovation and digitization in all its activities. The focus of this edition in ports and shipping is also an opportunity: integrating the ocean and land logistics is a huge challenge and one that is relevant around the world.
An impact in the future
The ocean is a valuable resource for humanity and has invaluable importance to our ecosystem. Coming up and establishing new, more sustainable, ways of exploring our oceans can be your contribution towards a life-long positive impact on protecting our environment.
Opportunity to work with industry players
Portugal’s economy and history have always been intrinsically connected to the ocean: it’s a country with vast maritime resources, where the maritime economy has always been a political priority. Through BlueTech accelerator, startups will have the opportunity to work in a government-backed programme, and with the key players of the port industry.
Applications are open for Free Electrons – the first truly global acceleration program, that connects the most promising startups with leading utilities in the energy sector. The program seeks to find solutions in the mobility, clean energy, smart grids, and digitalization.
On March 13th, the startups selected for the bootcamp (happening in Dublin) will be announced.
Just like the last edition, the program will have 3 modules: the first in Columbus, in the North-American state of Ohio, in May; the second in Hong Kong, China, in June; and the last module will happen in Lisbon, in September, when a winner will be announced – winning a $200.000 prize.
In its 3rd edition, Free Electrons already has a successful history: several pilots began business partnerships between the startups and the utilities and last edition’s winner, SOLshare, is revolutionizing the energy market in Bangladesh, where over 50 million people still can’t access the electrical grid.
These 10 utilities of the energy sector have, together, around 80 million clients and are located in more than 40 countries – which gives mature energy startups the chance to go global by accessing these partners.
Startup culture has its own language. Many of the terms tossed around sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, or an episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’, at the very least…
In fact, hearing the language of startups is a lot like watching a foreigner that kind of speaks Spanish trying to have a go at Portuguese. Some words you almost recognize, others you get a sense of what they’re hinting at. But it really doesn’t amount to anything, if you’re looking for your native tongue.
The truth is, most of these terms have come to stay. So there’s really no use in trying to swim against the current and ignore them. The innovative businesses popping up every week, feed and bask in this new ‘lingo’, so, if you want to bring your organization closer to innovation and growth, you better start by understanding what promising startups are actually talking about.
So, to help you get started, here are some key jargon:
Incubator: A space for businesses to research, gestate, and grow before attempting to hit the market. Think about a species of animal that can stand as soon as it is born and then walk and jump 24 hours after. OK, so that is not the type of animal that belongs in an incubator. Incubators are good for seed stage companies, that really need more time and care. Incubators are often also coworking spaces.
Accelerator: An accelerator is much like an incubator, but with more access to resources, mentors, know-how, investors, and corporate connections. In an accelerator, a company might outgrow its natural pace, hence the ‘acceleration’. Accelerators are spaces that have the resources to help a startup fail and try again.
Pitch: A presentation in which a startup founder attempts to persuade an investor about the viability of their company. The presentation varies, based on the specific purpose of the pitch. Brief presentations in which an entrepreneur provides a 30 – 60-second overview of their idea, business model, and marketing strategy, with the purpose of attaining a followup audience with an investor are described as ‘elevator pitches’. Formal, detailed presentations utilizing power point type slide decks, with the specific objective of seeking investment from angel groups or VCs, are known as ‘investment pitches’, and usually, amount to 3 minutes.
Burn Rate: The rate at which a company spends net cash over a certain period, typically a month. Investors are not very keen in putting their money where the burn rate is excessive, apart from some few exceptions, like Uber. In simple words, its how fast startups are blowing the cash they got in the first place.
Seed Money: The first investments in a company by someone other than the founder. The term comes from planting a seed for the first time.This is the initial round of capital for start-up companies, typically provided by angel investors through preferred stock or convertible bond-type instruments.
Unicorn: A company that has magically been valued at over $1 billion (1 million millions). Curated fashion platform Farfetch, founded in Portugal, is one such example. It’s a steep road, but all startups dream of becoming Unicorns…
You are now ready to enter the world of startups. But tread lightly, it a chaotic space, constantly changing and evolving. If you need some guidance, Beta-i is always here to help you navigate the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
