SmartUp Accelerator kick off in Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol

May brought together several greentech enthusiasts from different countries to Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol to Rohehommik: consumer cleantech & smart homes event. We organized SmartUp Accelerator kick off in Estonia together with good partners from Demos Helsinki and hosted our greentech companies Airobot and Smart Load Solutions.

Demos Helsinki opened the topic about consumer cleantech and how we are building a new innovation ecosystem across Baltic Sea Region with SmartUp Accelerator project. We launched SmartUp Challenge 2018: smart homes competition for consumer-focused startups and SME’s.

„Substantial changes in sustainability can’t be achieved without pursuing changes in dominant lifestyles.“ Dr. Mikelis Grivins – Baltic Studies Centres

It’s no news, that we are consuming way more of Earth’s resources, than we should. Right now 1.7 planets would be needed to produce enough natural resources to match our consumption rates. If we continue the same way, by the year 2050 we consume 4,5 planets and this way life on Earth most certainly won’t last for long. The irony is, that still the world largest companies are burning fossil fuels (f.e Walmart, State Grid, Toyota, etc) and this is killing our planet.

But there is still light in the end of the tunnel. Change is the new norm and luckily, the mindsets are slowly but surely changing in a way that this ridiculous consuming of resources can’t continue. The unicorns, f.e Uber, Xiamoi and Airbnb, have all something in common – they are consumer focused, digital and related to sharing community. If you want to build a successful and sustainable product or service, follow the same principles. And there’s several support systems, like SmartUp Accelerator, which help you to conquer international markets. 😊

We are spending 80-90% of our time in-house and therefore consuming a lot of energy. Estonian greentech company Airobot has developed a heat recovery ventilation unit which has the ability to make independent decisions. The product uses as little energy as possible for ensuring high air quality for optional wellbeing and productive atmosphere. „It all starts with air and each euro your saving from ventilation, you are doubling up at the pharmacy,“ said Heiki Aulik, the CEO of Airobot. Read more about their energy-efficient technology at https://airobot.ee/en/.

It’s no news that our energy prices fluctuate, but did you know that the price may be 10 times higher than an hour before? Estonian greentech company Smart Load Solutions has developed a truly intelligent thermostat that checks the electricity price in real time when heating your home. The price of electricity always drops when there is a lot of solar and wind energy being produced. „Themo breathes as one with the nature and heats up the floor when there is cheap and green energy available in the grid. As less fossil fuels are needed, a 5 m² with Themo intelligence can save up to 500kg of CO₂ emissions in a year to your environment,“ told Madis Uuemaa, the CEO of Smart Load Solutions. Read more about it at https://themo.ee/en/.

Energy efficient consumer cleantech solutions shouldn’t be something extraordinary, but become a norm. That’s why this year SmartUp Accelerator competition is focused on smart homes and how to build products which use less resources and wont harm the environment. If you are focused on smart managements systems, IoT solutions, energy, heating, cooling, ecodesign, novel services, sharing economy, circular solutions or some other energy efficient consumer-focused solution, then this competition is for you!

Who can apply to SmartUp Challenge?

• based in the Baltic Sea region
• fit for the theme
• PoC & MVP done (prototype is a plus)
• min 2 persons in a dedicated team
• eager for market validation and international growth.

What do we offer for the teams?

• 6 months acceleration with international bootcamp and support for new market entries
• International expert, mentors and networks
• Access to investors and financing structures
• Up to € 10 000 support
• Fast-tracked access to Baltic Sea Region markets

To take part in the competition, you are invited to submit a project via the application form on the SmartUp Accelerator webpage during 15 August – 15 September. Find more information at https://www.smartupaccelerator.eu/ or contact Tehnopol’s Project Manager heleri.holm@tehnopol.ee.