EIT InnoEnergy starts cooperation with the Ministry of Economy on support of innovations in energy sector
Europe's largest network for supporting innovation in energy sector, mobility, cleantech and solutions for smart cities expands its activities in Slovakia.
EIT InnoEnergy agreed with the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic on cooperation in knowledge transfer in the field of energy sector innovations development. The Minister of Economics, Peter Žiga, and CEO of EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe, Jakub Miler, signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
Active in Slovakia since 2017, EIT InnoEnergy started what is now the largest European start-up competition for innovative companies in the above fields; PowerUp! started when EIT InnoEnergy began to search and support innovative solutions. According to Jakub Miler, the Memorandum is a natural development of EIT InnoEnergy activities in Slovakia, as Slovakia is a country with traditional and significant know-how in the energy sector. 'Tightening ties with the Ministry opens up new areas for mutual cooperation. Thanks to the Ministry’s and SIEA’s support we are hoping to host most promising start-ups from Slovakia during the PowerUp! Country Final in Bratislava. In much longer perspective, this could be a beginning of introducing EIT InnoEnergy’s portfolio solutions on the field that could contribute to reaching country’s ambitious energy goals,' said Jakub Miler upon signing the Memorandum of Understanding.
EIT InnoEnergy can, especially in these fields, bring experience and experts to Slovakia from more than 40 countries, where it cooperates with more than 300 partners from the industrial sector, as well as research and academic institutions. „We believe that this cooperation can help Slovak companies to find partners for research projects, as well as to access foreign markets with their innovative solutions,“ stated Peter Žiga, the Minister of Economy, during the signing of the Memorandum.
Specific projects and detailed forms of cooperation should be agreed in the near future. Last year, for example, EIT InnoEnergy supported with a 4 million investment a successful Slovak company GA Drilling, active in innovative drilling technologies. 'Supporting such, but also smaller startups, remains our priority. Cooperation with the Ministry should of course help to utilize traditional Slovak know-how in energy sector in solutions and startups, that will be in the emerging generation of new technologies among the European, and perhaps even the world’s best,' adds Peter Kolesár, CEO of neulogy, which is the local hub coordinating EIT InnoEnergy activities in Slovakia.
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