EIT InnoEnergy PowerUp! Finals 2019

The finalists will compete for the top prize in the Grand Final on 21 May, set to be held at Impact’19 in Krakow.

The areas of focus for the fifth EIT InnoEnergy PowerUp! include energy, mobility, cleantech, heating, clean air and smart technologies, meaning there is a wide variety of different products and solutions on show. Participants all have one thing in common though: they are bright, ambitious and confident that their products and services can change our world for the better.

Five events, 24 countries, almost 900 participants

Some of the innovations developed by our finalists in the field of sharing economy include the Unicorn Scooters team from Lithuania, which designed an electric scooter that has more than twice the range (80 km) of its competitors; FLYO Boards from Poland, which has presented the levitating FLYO surfboard, equipped with an electric drive which allows it to float about one metre above the surface of the water; and Ride Now – the winner of the Czech Country Final – which offers a unique service for commuters that connects drivers and passengers in real time with people who are travelling in the same direction.

Other participating start-ups are focused on areas such as making modern cities more resourceful (like Romanian urban solar charger developer Green Spots), increasing renewable energy potential (like Turkish firm ENLİL and its wind turbine project designed to harness waste energy from highways) and increasing overall urban efficiency (like Greek start-up Orama which offers a cutting-edge AI solution that enables smarter management of electrical grids). You can find out more about all 14 PowerUp! 2019 finalists here.

PowerUp! is the biggest competition for start-ups in the Central-Eastern Europe region, and is organised by EIT InnoEnergy. Almost 300 teams submitted their applications this year, in what is the fifth edition of the competition. PowerUp! continues to grow rapidly, with each year’s edition seeing start-ups present solutions at an increasingly advanced stage of development.

PowerUp! Grand Final at Impact’19

The winners of the 14 national finals will now compete for the top prize of EUR 50 000 and the chance to join the prestigious Highway® by EIT InnoEnergy business accelerator, which offers financial investment up to EUR 150 000. The winner of the fifth edition of PowerUp! will be selected on May 21 in Krakow during Impact’19 – one of the leading economic events in the Central- Eastern Europe region. The Grand Final will be hosted by LJ Rich, a journalist and presenter best known as host of the BBC News Click and Radio 5 Live programme. 

For the first time in the competition’s history, an additional Clean Air Challenge Award will be granted at this year’s event, open to companies demonstrating innovation and pioneering thought in clean air initiatives. The award is sponsored by Veolia, a company with a positive reputation for creating, developing and implementing solutions which contribute to the sustainable development of cities and industries.

Last not but least, the audience of the Grand Final 2019 will also have a chance to hear from representatives of portfolio of EIT InnoEnergy success stories, including HYGEN, Gradis and Skeleton Technologies. They will share in detail how taking part in EIT InnoEnergy's PowerUp! helped them to spread their wings and reach new levels of success.

Register here.