12 green-technology projects secure more than 4 million euros in financing through ESADE BAN
In its first three editions, the Cleantech Forum, ESADE’s gathering for investors and entrepreneurs in the clean-technology sector, attracted more than 250 clean-technology initiatives. Of these participants, 31 were chosen as finalists and went on to pitch their projects to investors at the forums and 12 ultimately received a total of €4,315,000 in financing.
The Cleantech Forum targets private investors who wish to invest at least €25,000 in energy-efficiency projects. It focuses on projects seeking upwards of €100,000 in financing in the clean-technology sector, particularly in energy, energy sustainability, water treatment, waste treatment, composting, and other environmentally friendly areas.
This year marks the first time that the Cleantech Forum has been held on ESADE’s Madrid and Barcelona campuses. According to Fernando Zallo, Director of ESADEBAN: "We are seeing growing interest in industrial projects as an alternative to investing in the ICT sector, which until now had been the number-one preference for investors."
4th edition of the Cleantech Forum
The latest edition of the Cleantech Forum featured nine projects from a range of different sectors. All of the projects are in the initial growth phase, with less than two years of commercial activity. All of the projects are scalable, have an international orientation, and employ at least one person full-time, and some are established companies or spin-offs seeking to close a round of financing of up to €1 million. The Cleantech Forum is a joint initiative of ESADE BAN the Barcelona City Council. It also enjoys the support of Barcelona Activa, the Repsol Foundation and KIC InnoEnergy.
"It is worthy of note that most of the projects presented here have participated in acceleration programmes at Repsol Foundation or KIC InnoEnergy – or at both, in some cases," declared Mr. Zallo. ESADEBAN is an investors' network created by the ESADE Alumni Business Angels Club, which aims to promote entrepreneurship and investment activity in Spain.
The following are some of the projects presented at the Cleantech Forum:
- Nnergix: This company makes B2B wind and solar energy forecasting software that can lower integration costs considerably. It was a finalist in the 2014 Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs Awards.
- WeSmartPark: This patented system can create low-cost networks of private parking places. Park-share users are able to park hassle-free in large cities and sustainably improve their mobility. The company’s founder, Jaume Mayor, was the runner-up in the 2012 EcoEmprendedor XXI Awards.
- BNStar Innovations: This smart water-management system for buildings reduces water and energy consumption.
- Focus: This company makes distributed sensors that can detect physical and structural properties (temperature, strain, vibrations, etc.) by means of optical fibres.
- Micro4ener: This company provides continuous monitoring of Legionella bacteria, which can lead to major savings in maintenance, energy and public health costs.
- Sendekia: Operating in the renewable-energy sector, this engineering firm offers a system that generates electricity from ocean waves more efficiently than existing systems.
- Sadako Technologies: This company created a robotic arm with artificial vision for urban-waste recovery in domestic waste treatment plants.
- Smalle Technologies: This company sells devices that generate renewable energy. Its first product, designed for the maritime industry, generates electricity for buoys.
- Enertika (Scotel Investments): This company develops, manages and invests in energy-efficiency engineering and energy-generation projects. It also offers energy-consumption monitoring services for large international companies.
