Supporting the Growth of Sustainable Ideas

Enel Lab

Enel to help Italian and Spanish technological start-ups.

The final phase of Enel Lab, the initiative launched by Enel to identify and support Italian and Spanish start-ups who have innovative energy projects, has begun, with a final six to be selected from a shortlist of 58

Enel Lab, the initiative launched last year by Enel to help Italian and Spanish technological start-ups, has begun the third and final phase of its competition.

From the 215 applications submitted, the Enel Lab experts haveshortlisted 68 proposals. Now that the third phase has started, these projects will be subject to the final selection, which will identify the six winning start-ups that will develop their projects within Enel’s set-up and receive an initial funding of € 250,000.

“Normally, initiatives that support start-ups are only offer financial help, while ours is an industrial project, meaning that our organisation is involved in the development of projects”, said Enel’s Head of strategic planning Alberto De Paoli.

During the first year Enel will support the development of the six start-ups offering not only initial funding, but also technological, business, administrative and legal support. De Paoli explained that “this will enable us to work out whether the idea could be made into a prototype”. If so the project will receive operational support for a second year, and Enel will participate in the startup’s share capital, supporting it with an additional funding of € 400,000, while “also assessing whether the prototype is actually viable on the marketplace”.

At the end of this phase a period of negotiations will begin, in which Enel and the start-ups will decide upon possible industrial opportunities: whether to sign partnership agreements for the project or choose other solutions.

The Enel Lab project, which has earmarked € 15 million for investment over three years, demonstrates the Enel Group’s commitment to innovation and sustainable development. Additionally, it shows to what extent the company believes that young, enthusiastic and forward-looking entrepreneurs can create development and employment in this rapidly changing world.