Salzburg AG Innovation Challenge #3
Startups and creative minds wanted to shape the future of energy!
Salzburg AG Innovation Challenge #3
The application phase is closed. Thank you for the great interest and the large amount of applications from all over the world! All applications are currently being screened and you will hear from us soon. We’re looking forward to the upcoming Startup Fair on April 5!
Salzburg AG stands for Energy, Transport, and Telecommunications. By operating in these key areas, Salzburg AG contributes to the quality of life and economic development of the region of Salzburg. Its products and services in the fields of electricity, natural gas, district heating and transport, as well as cable TV, internet, and telephony assure reliable infrastructure for the citizens of the state of Salzburg. Salzburg AG’s goal is to make the lives of Salzburg’s citizens more comfortable today and more sustainable in the future. In 2016, Salzburg AG recorded sales of EUR 1.06 billion with some 2,062 employees, serving more than 400,000 satisfied customers. To seize the opportunities and advances that the energy transition and digitalization offers, Salzburg AG is looking for solutions in the areas of innovative customer solutions, operation and maintenance of energy assets, and data analysis and forecast. In an additional open call, Salzburg AG encourages innovative experts to submit creative concepts in the field of urban area development.
Startup Fair: 05.04.2018
Innovation Camp: 23. ‑ 25.04.2018
Salzburg, Austria
Startups & creative minds wanted! Shape the future of energy with your innovative product and service!
Thank you for the great interest!
Startups, corporates, research centers & universities wanted
Acceleration & partnership
Market know-how & large target group
Shape the future of energy
Application closed on 09.03.2018
Startup Fair: 05.04.2018
Startup Fair: 05.04.2018
Innovation Camp: 23. ‑ 25.04.2018
Salzburg, Austria
Join the Salzburg AG
Innovation Challenge #3
Startups & creative minds wanted! Shape the future of energy with your innovative product and service!
Scope of the project
The project will kick off with the startup fair on the 5th of April. Here you will have the opportunity to introduce your product or service to a wide range of Salzburg AG board members, executives, and decision makers. The goal is to establish a first exchange between you and Salzburg AG.
Next, the innovation camp will provide you with the opportunity to identify the biggest pain points in the targeted innovation fields alongside one of the biggest players in the region. You will have the chance to develop new business ideas in interdisciplinary teams and/or to create new products and services. Successful projects will be eligible for a four-month acceleration phase.
As an expert with an innovative solution you will have the chance to establish yourself as a supplier or development partner or sell your innovative products or services through Salzburg AG.
Topics & Challenges
Click topic title for more details:
Innovative customer solutions
Consumer, prosumer, business
Salzburg AG has realised that energy transition and digitalisation brings a lot of opportunities to its business ecosystem. Its customer base has become part of a digital society that needs to be engaged in a different way than in past decades.
We are looking for:
- hardware and software solutions related to smart-meters (to be installed in 80% of all households in Austria by 2020)
- innovative customer solutions in photovoltaics, for end-consumers in single- and multi-family houses (e.g. Mieterstrommodell)
- digital customer care solutions that improve the customer satisfaction on conventional channels and social media
- adjacent services and products such as insurances or security
- for all topics, we are aiming to create measurable value for our end-customers both financially and in terms of usability and experience
Operation and maintenance of energy assets
Salzburg AG endeavors to achieve operational excellence in its highly diverse portfolio of assets, ranging from power plants to various types of network infrastructure. The impact of digitalization on the operation and maintenance of all Salzburg AG assets is of particular interest.
Our major interests include:
- the use of various types of sensors and sensor networks in the operation of energy assets
- solutions based on GIS-locked information
- smart detection (and prediction) of failure incidences e.g. in the energy grid
- holistic plant management approaches (process control, planning, forecasting, simulation) are all target areas.
Data analysis and forecasting
As consequence of the digitalisation of society, an increasing amount of data is at the company’s disposal. This includes data from internal sources (customer information and operational data of power grids and plants). Moreover, data from external sources e.g. related to energy trading or increasingly precise weather forecasts are of core interest to Salzburg AG.
Salzburg AG is looking for ideas and concepts for:
- fast compilation of energy data on a global scale
- energy trading
- consumption and production forecast
- smart-meter data
- usage of weather data
Open Call
Click topic title for more details:
Wanted: Creative concepts for the urban area
Salzburg AG is the public energy and infrastructure service provider, responsible for serving approximately 431.000 customers in urban and rural areas. In the open call, Salzburg AG is looking for innovative concepts for the urban area to improve everyday life for its citizens.
Our major interests are:
- first and last-miles passenger transport & logistic
- use of advertising space
- safety and health for silver-agers
- insurance services
- solutions for commuters and tourism
- mobility: on demand/pooling
Who are we looking for?
Startups
offering a new product or innovative service with at least a first working prototype
Research centers & universities
that are hidden gems with technologies that will revolutionize the energy transition
Corporates
with technologies in their portfolio that will change the energy world willing to innovate like startups do
Customers
from the B2B sector
Experts, talents & visionairies
from all fields: industry, universities and research, institutes, public, private
What’s in it for you?
Contribute your ideas
Exchange knowledge & experience
Work with leading mentors
Partner up with market leaders
Turn ideas into reality
Be inspired by the variety of ideas
Benefits for …
Startups
- Sell your service/product
- Get access to almost half a million new customers
- Position yourself as a potential supplier to Salzburg AG
- Receive a PoC budget
- Get access to know-how and learnings
- Find a successful and experienced partner
- Get access to a large target group
- Profit from synergies
Corporates
- Co-create exciting new ventures
- Foster existing partnerships
- Build up promising new partnerships
- Upsell products to new customers
- Become part of the value chain by providing your services
Talents/experts
- Present and develop your idea
- Start an own venture or join an existing team
- Revamp your network
Research centers & universities
- Co-create exciting new ventures
- Foster existing partnerships
- Build up promising new partnerships
- Become part of the value chain by providing your services
- Receive feedback from the private sector
1. Application closed on 09.03.2018 – thank you for the great interest!
2. Startup fair: 05.04.2018
- Pitch directly to the top executives of Salzburg AG
- Meet all relevant experts in an open pitching session
- Win the prize for the best pitch!
3. Innovation camp: 23. – 25.04.2018
- Validate your collaboration with Salzburg AG in an intense workshop
- Work on a collaborative business model
- Receive the chance to enter the acceleration phase with your project
4. Acceleration phase kick-off: 15.05.2018
5. Acceleration phase: June-August 2018
- Support by WhatAVenture external innovation experts
- Budget for prototyping
- Mentoring and project coordination support by Salzburg AG experts
- No permanent residency necessary
6. Demo Day: 13.09.2018
Agenda
Startup Fair,
Thu. 05.04.2018
09:00-10:30
Closed pitch to the board and executives of Salzburg AG
10:30-16:00
Start of the fair – time to get to know the Salzburg AG employees
12:30-13:30
Open pitches with crowd voting
Welcoming talk by the board
15:00-15:30
Announcement of the best pitch & closing of the fair
Innovation Camp Day 1,
Mon. 23.04.2018
08:00-09:00
Registration
09:00-09:30
Welcome: Scope and topics of the camp
09:30-10:00
Detailed agenda & approach
10:00-12:30
Teamwork 1: Customer exploration
12:30-13:30
Working lunch
13:30-18:00
Teamwork 2: Solution
18:00-19:00
Working dinner
Innovation Camp Day 2,
Tue. 24.04.2018
08:30-11:30
Mentoring session
11:30-12:30
Incorporation of mentor feedback
12:30-13:30
Working lunch
13:30-18:00
Teamwork 3: Business model
18:00-18:30
Working dinner
18:30-20:00
Pitch training
Innovation Camp Day 3,
Wed. 25.04.2018
08:30-12:00
Teamwork 4: Pitch preparation
12:00-13:00
Working lunch
13:00-15:00
Pitch & Q&A with the jury
16:00-17:00
Announcement of the jury decision
Innovators wanted! Join the challenge!
Shape the future of energy with your innovative product or service! Partner up with the market leader and grow your idea and business!
Questions? Contact us
Daniel Schwarzbach
Director of Technology & Innovation
daniel@salzburg-innovation.com+43 660 793 2818
Georg Baumgartner
Staff Unit Corporate Development Innovation
Salzburg AG
About Salzburg AG
Salzburg AG for Energy, Transport and Telecommunications operates in important areas that contribute to the quality of life and economic development of Salzburg.
With Salzburg AG’s products and services for electricity, natural gas, long-distance and local heating, and transport, as well as CableLink products cable TV, internet, and telephony, they ensure reliable infrastructure for the citizens of the state of Salzburg. Their goal is to make the lives of the citizens of Salzburg more comfortable now and more sustainable for the future. In the 2016 financial year Salzburg AG recorded sales of EUR 1.06 billion, with some 2,062 employees, serving more than 400,000 customers.
“The world is changing – and with it, the energy sector as we have known it for decades. We at Salzburg AG want to use innovation to make good use of opportunities and advances that energy transition and digitalisation bring. We are thinking today about the infrastructure that we will need tomorrow. We are working on the vision of a digital society and seeking solutions that will continue to move Salzburg forward.”– Leonhard Schitter, Horst Ebner
Click here to watch an interview (German) with CEO Leonhard Schitter at last year’s Innovation Challenge final.
This is Salzburg AG
(German)
What happened last year
(German)
Shape the future of energy with your innovative product and service!
Contact us for more information.
Daniel Schwarzbach +43 660 7029 787 daniel@salzburg-innovation.com 
