Alperia Startup Factory #3
Shape The Future With Italy’s Green Energy Leader
Pitch your solution to Italy’s green energy leader & accelerate your business!
We are searching for startups, Alperia Intrapreneurs and creative minds to partner up in order to work on new business opportunities.
Alperia is one of Italy’s largest green energy providers with more than 320.000 customers and a forerunner in the field of energy production from renewable resources. Alperia’s vision is to mold the energy of the future. South Tyrol produces a big surplus of renewable energy and has one of the highest densities of charging stations in Europe.
Together with you – startups, SMEs, Alperia Intrapreneurs, talents and universities – Alperia wants to develop breakthrough solutions for the energy industry and beyond. Help Alperia to shape the future and expand South Tyrol’s status as a smart region. Benefit from a leader’s know-how, resources and network in order to grow your business.
Apply now
Application deadline: 27.10.2020 Extended application deadline: 02.11.2020
APPLICATION CLOSED
Bolzano, Italy (optional remotely)
Travel and accommodation costs covered
Startups and Alperia Intrapreneurs wanted! Pitch your solution to Italy’s green energy leader Alperia. Join the Startup Factory and revolutionize the energy industry with us!
In cooperation with
Pitch your solution at the Alperia Startup Factory #3
Kickstart your product or service with our new and exciting startup program. Gain a foothold in a high-potential market and grab the unique opportunity to partner up with Alperia, Italy’s green energy leader.
Do you offer a solution in the fields of District heating 4.0, Innovative energy products (Italian Market), Hydropower efficiency, safety and sustainability, Smart region solutions (smart agriculture & smart home for emergency), Flexible energy storage, or IoT and AI for energy efficiency?
Or are you an Alperia employee with an idea for a solution in the named fields and want to develop it as an intrapreneur? This is your chance to bring it to life in a structured way apart from daily business!
The most promising applications will have the chance to join the Alperia Startup Factory #3!
What’s in it for you?
Get a proof-of-concept budget
Receive a budget to develop a PoC project in collabo-ration with Alperia experts
Get access to a large customer base
Reach out to more than 320.000 customers of Alperia in Italy
Expert mentoring
Accelerate your business idea by getting mentoring during the program
Expand to Italy and boost your business
Win Alperia as a partner to successfully gain a foothold in the Italian market
Get access to valuable resources
Benefit from getting access to resources, expert know-how, markets, and a large network
Alperia Intrapreneurs will be additionally granted time apart from daily business to work on the POC
Get a strong and dedicated partner
Enter a partnership with a successful and experienced industry leader, dedicated to innovation
Alperia Intrapreneurs get full support and act as an entrepreneur within their company
Land an investment from an industry leader
Further cooperation can include an equity exchange, depending on the final results
Successful PoCs of Alperia Intrapreneurs get the chance to be integrated in the product portfolio, become a spin-off, etc.
Structured process and fast decision-making
Benefit from top-management involvement for fast decision-making regarding the implementation right at the Demo Day event
Search fields
District heating 4.0
Innovative solutions that optimize district heating by analyzing data, forecasting and introducing new technologies
- Detect and remove water & energy losses in the district heating network
- Analytics of functional data of heat transfer stations to detect and solve irregularities
- Analytics of biomass quality for thermal power stations
- Monitoring and optimizing the combustion process in biomass plants
- Analytics of heat consumption per housing unit
- Alternative solutions for heat production
- Demand forecast for district heating
Innovative energy products
Innovative solutions that allow a differentiation of energy products/tariffs (electricity and heat), respect the Italian regulatory framework and are compatible with the Italian smart meter (“2G”) standard
- New business models
- New tariff structures
- Value-added services
- Data analytics supporting the differentiation in the tariff structure.
- E.g. Solutions leveraging the smart meter user device (“Dispositivo utente”)
Hydropower efficiency, safety and sustainability
Innovative solutions that have already been applied in the hydropower sector in order to:
- Optimize efficiency and safety of hydropower production plants
- Optimize efficiency and safety of the surrounding of hydraulic infrastructures and surrounding areas
- Improve sustainability and environmental impact of hydropower production plants
- Improve sustainability and environmental impact of hydraulic infrastructures and surrounding areas
Smart region solutions
For the development of a smart region we are looking for uses cases that enable value-added services for our smart agriculture and smart home emergency initiatives.
- Smart agriculture use cases based on topography and soil analysis, leveraging satellite and radar imaging technologies in combination with smart algorithms
- Smart home use cases for forecasting, detection and handling of emergencies (e.g. fall detection, declining of mental & physical health, etc.)
Flexible energy storage
Innovative solutions to implement and operate flexible, safe and cost-efficient energy storage systems in a domestic, business, regional or power plant setting
- Storage solutions for the run of river plant (e.g. hydrogen, solid hydrogen, …)
- Energy storage retrofitting
- Mobile energy storage for construction lots and events
- FuelCells for Home and Industry
- Business models for Vehicle-to-grid / vehicle-to-home
IoT and AI for energy efficiency
Innovative & holistic solutions to monitor and control energy efficiency in public and private buildings
- Business models for optimizing energy efficiency leveraging IoT and artificial intelligence
- Intelligent technologies for optimizing energy efficiency
- Use cases we look for include energy efficiency, customer comfort, heat & ventilation, quality of air, etc.
Who are we looking for?
Startups
offering an innovative product, service, process or technology related to our search topics.
SMEs
with new and innovative solutions or technologies in their portfolio fitting to the search fields.
Alperia Intrapreneurs
that have a great idea or solution of how to bring forward Alperia and would like to act as an entrepreneur within the company.
Talents, Universities & research departments
from all industry fields, public or private research centers, that are working on groundbreaking topics.
The Journey
Application deadline: 27.10.2020 Extended application deadline: 02.11.2020 23:59 CET
Remote Pitches:
24.11. / 25.11.2020
Remote Innovation Camp:
09. – 11.12.2020
Acceleration Phase:
January – May 2021
Kick-off Workshop:
02. – 03.02.2021
Demo Day:
20.05.2021
Successful launch or cooperation
Scope of the project
A dynamic market is looking for great ideas! The energy sector is changing rapidly. The use of renewable energy sources, new systems for more efficient energy use as well as innovative service offerings are increasing. Alperia wants to be a driving force and play a leading role in this development, encouraging innovation in various fields.
To develop breakthrough solutions, Alperia is now looking for startups and creative minds with great ideas to revolutionize the industry.
“We are convinced that courageous and visionary ideas of startups are an important driver to rethink the future of energy.”
– Johann Wohlfarter, CEO
About Alperia
Let’s revolutionize the energy industry! Alperia is the largest provider of energy services in South Tyrol, a province in the north of Italy, and it is one of the leading Italian companies in the field of energy production from renewable sources.
Our core business involves the production of energy from renewable sources, the management of electricity grid and the sale of energy and district heating systems, as well as the development of innovative energy solutions for the future.
At Alperia, we want to mold the energy of the future in order to make an active contribution to the mapping out of the future of Smart Regions. It is our aim to be a leading force in the provision of energy services and to foster an intelligent, digital-based energy future for our customers.
- More than 320.000 customers
- 1,6 billion € revenue in 2019
- 1,000 employees
- 8,730 km of energy grids
- South Tyrol produces a surplus of renewable energy and has one of the highest densities of charging stations in Central Europe
Impressions from the Alperia Startup Factory
This will be the third edition of the Alperia Startup Factory. This alone shows the great success of the challenge. But there is more!
In the first year two projects showed their huge potential to the management, so they got the chance to implement their product.
The second edition brought 4 Teams to the implementation phase – all of them are helping Alperia to revolutionize the energy industry.
Also you can be one of them – Convince yourself and grab this great opportunity!
Startups, Alperia Intrapreneurs & creative minds wanted!
Join the Alperia Startup Factory #3 and pitch your smart solution to Italy’s green energy leader!
Grow your business with the help of Alperia’s expert network, get access to resources and markets, exchange ideas, and discuss potential long-term cooperations.
Join Alperia in building innovative solutions for a smart region.
Contact us for more information.
Eva Zingerle +39 349 8868809 eva@alperia-startups.eu FAQ
What happens if I can't travel due to COVID-19?
The Innovation Camp (09.- 11.12.2020) will be held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Acceleration Kick-off Workshop (02.+03.02.2021) and the Demo Day (20.05.2021) are planned to take place in Bolzano, Italy. We are constantly re-evalutaing the situation. If traveling is not possible due COVID-19 we will facilitate the workshops and events for the program remotely.
Is transportation and accommodation covered?
Yes, reasonable travel expenses (transportation to and from Bolzano, accommodation for non-residents) will be reimbursed following Alperia’s travel expenses rules (train, flight economy, taxi/rental car/own car if necessary)
What is the working language?
Workshop input, documentation, and pitches in English please. While working in your team: if 100% of your team members prefer German/Italian or any other language spoken within our team, that is not a problem!
Is it necessary to travel to Bolzano for this event?
If traveling is possible (depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions), it is mandatory to attend the Kick-Off Workshop and the Demo Day at the end of the program (if you are among the selected startups). The mentioned events are planned to take place in Bolzano, Italy. Depending on the team, there are also 2-3 on-site meetings during the Acceleration (Proof-of-Concept) phase. We are constantly re-evalutaing the situation. If traveling is not possible due COVID-19 we will facilitate the workshops and events for the program remotely.
The Innovation Camp (09.- 11.12.2020) will be held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Are only startups from the energy sector included?
No. We are equally interested in Startups working on technologies, solutions or services that could be used for the energy industry but have not yet provided an application in this field.
What is an Alperia Intrapreneuer?
An Intrapreneur is a person who acts like an entrepreneur while working in a (large) organization. Each Alperia employee can become an Intrapreneur within the Startup Factory, by applying for the program with an idea he/she wants to develop together with other colleagues. Often for such ideas there is not enough time or structure during daily business. The Startup Factory offers a great chance, to develop great and innovative ideas with a market potential further.
What are the differences for startups and Alperia Intraprenerus?
Regarding the process and the possibilities of getting selected for the acceleration phase, there aren’t any. All applicants are getting evaluated and selected regarding the same parameters (evaluation criteria, timeline, meeting dates, …)
How can I apply for this program?
APPLICATION CLOSED!
Fill out the application form and provide us with the core information about your company (It takes approximately 15 minutes to present and register your startup/idea). If we require further information, we will contact you for a personal interview.
Rolling admission; admission deadline was November 2nd, 2020, 23:59 CET.
What happens after my application?
Best-in-class startups / ideas will be invited for an online interview (remote pitch) with our team and top managers and experts from Alperia to discuss their business model, technology, and growth ambitions.
Successful candidates will then be invited to the Innovation Camp (remote event).
The selected Startups / ideas will enter the Proof-of-Concept phase and will pitch at the final event (Demo Day) in front of top management of Alperia.
Successful teams will be then given the chance to enter a cooperation with Alperia.
How does the selection process work?
The call was open until November 2nd, 2020 and all applications will be reviewed during the next weeks.
Admission is on a rolling basis with two scheduled screening rounds (mid October and beginning of November).
After an objective rating of all applications, you will get the notification in case you are among the top selected startups who are invited to present their ideas within a remote pitching session.
When do I get the notification if I will be invited to the Remote Pitching Session?
We will inform you in case you are among the top selected startups who are admitted to the pitching session by mid of November 2020.
What happens at the Remote Pitching Session?
Top selected startups are invited to present their business ideas within an online interview to our team and top managers and expert from Alperia. You will have 3 minutes to pitch your ideas, followed by a short question-answer round. Remote pitches will be held on 24th and 25th of November, you would get a slot on one of these two days. Successful candidates will then be invited to the innovation camp.
What is the Innovation Camp?
It’s a 2,5-days workshop, where startups / Alperia Intrapreneurs, as well as experts and top management from Alperia, will meet (remotely) to:
- Identify open and critical questions
- Match between startup capabilities and requirements of Alperia
- Clear common understanding of the next steps: field trials, PoC Roadmap incl. budget, marketing scenarios, business case
A jury pitch at the end of the day will set the definite participants of the acceleration phase.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions the Innovation Camp will be held remotely.
Is transportation and accomodation covered for the Innovation camp?
Travel expenses are covered for up to 2 team members. Accommodation including breakfast is covered as well. Lunch and dinner will be provided at the event.
Who decides about the participation to the Acceleration Phase?
A jury consisting of the CEO and members of the top management of Alperia
What happens during the Proof-of-Concept Phase and do I have to be in Bolzano all the time?
During the POC- phase the goal is to validate the proposal/hypotheses, run pilots and field trials and develop a business case.
You don’t have to be present the whole time in Bolzano and can work remotely on the project. However, there will be three workshops during these four months, where you have to travel to Bolzano.
What does the budget during the Proof-of-Concept Phase include and how big is it?
Budget for testing, field trials and prototyping foreseen (amount depending on project scope, subject to negotiations), Travel costs subsidized
