The energy company EDP, through its innovation area, along with six other companies in the energy sector (utilities), has already selected the startups set to participate in the bootcamp phase of Free Electrons, the global open innovation program connecting the world’s most promising startups with the leading companies in the sector with the aim of offering innovative solutions and shaping the future of energy together.

The bootcamp will take place in Madrid between May 27th and 30th, and as its host, EDP has been actively involved in selecting the 29 startups from 15 countries. The businesses chosen operate in six sectors key to the energy transition and comply with EDP’s strategic innovation areas, including decarbonization, distributed energy resources, energy storage and flexibility, green hydrogen, grids and renewable energy sources. 

During the course of the event, the startups will present their solutions with the goal of defining potential pilot projects with the companies participating, such as EDP. For the three days of the bootcamp, several activities will be carried out, including sessions for the utilities to present their challenges and the startups to present their solutions, followed by individual business development meetings, inspiration moments and panels where opportunities in the energy sector will be analyzed, with special emphasis on the potential of technological disruption.

“As a host of such an important phase of free electrons, for one more year EDP has the chance to support and collaborate with startups on projects that directly align with the group’s commitments, which include leading the energy transition and creating value for this sector’s ecosystem”, asserted Tomás Moreno, director of EDP’s Innovation Ecosystem. “EDP keeps up its objective of investing in projects that align with its strategic goals, such as being completely green by 2030 and Net Zero by 2040”, he added.

To select the best startups, the utilities first go through a process of scouting, consisting of identifying, evaluating and selecting startups according to the challenges and needs of the companies that make up Free Electrons. After that, online pitch phases and virtual meetings are developed until they reach a list of selected candidates. For this edition, the program received more than a thousand applications, from which 29 were selected for the bootcamp phase. Only 15 of them will advance to the two final stages that will take place in July in Montreal (Canada), and in October in Hamburg (Germany).

Free Electrons has been taking place since 2017 with the aim of finding and developing projects with the world’s most promising startups in the energy sector. For more information on Free Electrons, click here. To see the startups selected for the 2024 program, click here.