Galp's innovation contest awards five startups in the energy sector. | Upcoming Energies

The third edition of Startup The Future, promoted by Galp, awarded five startups of the 195 candidates from the whole world. The winners presented innovative solutions that stood out for driving the energy transition. 

Energiency has developed an energy performance analysis software for the industrial sector that integrates big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The company, founded in Rennes, France, envisions the “Industry 4.0”, identifying ways to optimize consumption and reduce emissions across all industrial activities – from the factory floor to corporate centers.  

In the mobility sector, HyWatts emerged as the winner with a proposal for renewable energy supply that dismisses investments for infrastructure updates. The company headquartered in Berkeley, California, developed a reversible HTPEM fuel cell – High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane – that performs two electrochemical processes in a single cell. In HyWatts' "Power Plant in a Box," the same cell functions as an electrolyzer (producing hydrogen from electricity) and as a fuel cell (generating electricity from hydrogen).  

The best response to the energy needs of populations in emerging nations came from Liquidstar. The American startup operates in the off-grid energy distribution sector, having created an infrastructure based on "waypoint stations," which charge batteries to provide energy in remote regions. This allows for services such as electric vehicle charging, internet connectivity, and even support for small-scale data centers. 

AOTECH – Advanced Optical Technologies was awarded for the application of photonic and optical solutions to industrial processes. The technology of the Spanish startup allows a precise and real time monitorization of operations that require quality control and cutting-edge maintenance, critical element in the development of fuels and new low-carbon energy solutions. 

With its proposal to use drones for optimizing solar production and improving maintenance processes of photovoltaic parks, the German company Volateq stands out in addressing the challenges of renewable energy. 

Each one of these startups will have the opportunity to collaborate with Galp through its business units and innovation teams, with total funding of the pilot for the selected solutions. Besides that, Galp took the 5 winners to the Web Summit 2024.  

Only in its third edition, Startup The Future conquered its space in the entrepreneur and startups community in the energy sector, with an accumulated registration of 650 applications from more than 50 countries. 

This is an Upcoming Energies initiative, the Open Innovation platform where transformation agents gather to co-create a more efficient, sustainable, and resilient energy system with Galp.