INCENSe (INternet Cleantech ENablers Spark), the business accelerator dedicated exclusively to clean technology and energy that is being supported by the European Commission’s FIWARE Accelerate programme, has selected the 28 winning startups of its second open call during a ceremony held today  at Enel’s headquarters in Rome.

The event saw the participation of Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policy Giuliano Poletti, Enel CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace, Innovation Adviser to the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Barberis, Member of the Permanent Advisory Board for the Innovation and Digital Agenda of the Italian Government Francesco Sacco and two representatives of the European Commission, the Director of the Institute for Energy and Transport DG JRC Giovanni De Santi and the Head of Sector for the FIWARE Programme DG CNCT Ragnar Bergstrom.

“With INCENSe, Enel confirms once again its commitment to support innovation, entrepreneurship as well as social and economic growth,” said Enel CEO Francesco Starace. “The work that the winning startups will carry out throughout the acceleration period is aimed at developing players capable of creating effective solutions, as can be seen with the first call winners, some of which are working on joint projects with Enel.”

INCENSe is an initiative launched by Enel, Endesa, Accelerace and FundingBox that aims to encourage innovation and high-tech employment in the European energy and cleantech sector.

Below are the 28 winning startups:

Each  winner will receive a free grant of up to 150,000 euros without equity considerations and  support services offered by INCENSe partners. These services include a six-month acceleration programme, additional coaching sessions, tailored workshops on European funding programmes, and the business support provided by INCENSe partners and network. The startups also have the chance to collaborate with INCENSe partners in the development and testing of their projects.

In total, INCENSe, which has an overall budget of about 8 million euros funded by the European Commission, will offer its support up to 42 startups.

INCENSe’s second open call was launched in June 2015 and gathered 257 applications from Europe and Israel through the website www.incense-accelerator.com. The submissions, which came from SMEs and entrepreneurs, were classified under the following categories: Energy Efficiency & Home Automation, Renewable Energy, Renewable Forecasting Solutions, Smart Grids, Energy Storage, Advanced Diagnostic & Automation Solutions, e-Mobility, Cyber-Security and Digitalization of Energy through ICT.

The 14 startups selected in the first call concluded their acceleration programme in December and almost half of them are collaborating with INCENSe corporate partners to further develop their projects.

For further details on INCENSe: www.incense-accelerator.com.