{"id":449241,"date":"2023-06-14T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=449241"},"modified":"2023-06-14T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T14:00:00","slug":"an-innovation-machine-for-the-renewable-energy-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/an-innovation-machine-for-the-renewable-energy-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"An innovation machine for the renewable energy sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Since 2010, the year of its founding, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.innoenergy.com\/\">EIT InnoEnergy<\/a> has supported some 330 climate tech start-ups in their early stages. Fifteen to twenty are added every year. And many of them have been able to make a real difference in the global energy transition. The results of this &#8220;innovation machine for the renewable energy sector&#8221; are certainly impressive. Still, investment manager Roel van Diepen realizes this is only achievable (and sustainable) thanks to years of investment in the network, knowledge, and sharp focus. In addition, of course, to a great deal of perseverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>EIT InnoEnergy is a successful investor with a portfolio of over 330 European companies<\/li><li>Key trends the firm responds to are geopolitics, availability of critical raw materials, sustainable shipping and rising interest rates.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Money is an important part of that support, but certainly not the only one. &#8220;Indeed, if you&#8217;re only looking for money, you&#8217;d better not knock on our door. For example, in addition to money, we provide knowledge and access to customers and contacts in Brussels. In exchange for our contribution, we also ask for a solid effort from the start-up itself. It is a process in which we work closely together to reduce risks and increase impact.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact with universities &#8211; specifically the Universities of Technology in Delft, Eindhoven, Twente, and Wageningen &#8211; is crucial in EIT InnoEnergy&#8217;s exploratory work. &#8220;That&#8217;s where the potential expansion of our portfolio lies. The student teams, the spinouts, that&#8217;s where we are looking. Good contact with the tech transfer officers is therefore essential because they have the best insight into the local situation.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-247282f7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/tag\/insightful-innovators\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Insightful Innovators\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cropped-Hexagon-Innovation-Origins_small_square_512.png\" style=\"max-width: 150px; max-height: 150px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Insightful Innovators<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Read everything about what the universities of Delft, Enschede, Eindhoven and Wageningen can contribute to society.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Special<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/52602303691_f51dbd728e_o-669x1004.jpg\" alt=\"Roel van Diepen, \u00a9 EIT InnoEnergy\" class=\"wp-image-449290\" width=\"236\" height=\"354\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Roel van Diepen, \u00a9 EIT InnoEnergy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>EIT InnoEnergy is an investor, but a special one. This is partly because of its strong ties to Brussels and its focus on the early phase. &#8220;We are a public-private organization that invests from equity. Where private funds work with funds that have to be &#8217;empty&#8217; after, say, 14 years, we mainly look at the development of the start-up itself. Our mandate is to accelerate innovations to market. If that is successful and the start-up reaches a stage where other investors are interested, we are happy to step back. We then reinvest the funds from that share sale in a new promising company.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At its inception, EIT InnoEnergy was still 90% funded by the European government, but step by step that percentage has decreased. &#8220;By now, more than half of our capital is raised by the 29 private parties that have joined as shareholders over the years. As a result, we are now almost entirely self-sustaining. By the way, because of the education part within our activities, there will always be a part public. We have had the Master school for some time, but recently we added a part &#8216;reskilling the workforce&#8217;. This is badly needed because talent is becoming a bottleneck, also for the companies in our portfolio. Moreover, we still have several specific, thematic training programs, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eba250.com\/\">EBA academy<\/a> for the battery sector and soon similar initiatives for hydrogen and solar.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-7198563d\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/selected\/first-all-european-battery-cell-for-electric-cars-produced-at-swedish-gigafactory-northvolt\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"First all-European battery cell for electric cars produced at Swedish gigafactory Northvolt\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 150px;\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-150x999 size-150x999\" alt=\"Electric car\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ZWul2zca-pexels-erik-mclean-5214413-scaled-1-1366x2048.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">First all-European battery cell for electric cars produced at Swedish gigafactory Northvolt<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Marking a new chapter in European industrial history, the cell that was recently produced is the first to have been fully designed, developed and assembled &hellip; <a href=\"\">Continued<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Over the years, some 330 European companies have been added to the portfolio. &#8220;Among them are many flagships. The most obvious one is probably Sweden&#8217;s Northvolt. It is currently Europe&#8217;s most advanced battery manufacturer, but when we decided to support them, it was still mostly a dream. Another notable name is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skeletontech.com\/\">Skeleton Technologies<\/a> from Estonia, which is currently building a factory in Germany for supercapacitors that allow for faster charging and discharging. This is ideal for electrifying heavy equipment such as trucks or mining equipment. Within the Netherlands, <a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/?s=elestor\">Elestor<\/a> stands out with their hydrogen bromide flow battery. We stepped in when founder Wiebrand Kout was toying with the idea of founding the company. We saw international ambition and, over the years, have been able to do a lot for them through our network. We helped them find new investors and content partners.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-f22700a5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/top-executive-taavi-madiberk-skeleton-having-an-enthusiastic-spark-is-the-key\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Top executive Taavi Madiberk (Skeleton): &#039;Having an enthusiastic spark is the key&#039;\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Top executive Taavi Madiberk (Skeleton): &#8216;Having an enthusiastic spark is the key&#8217;<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Innovation Origins regularly talks to &#8216;innovation leaders,&#8217; trendsetters who are high up on the innovation ladder. In this series, they each offer a peek behind &hellip; <a href=\"\">Continued<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Not a lobbying club<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The value of EIT InnoEnergy also manifests itself in the Brussels contacts. Van Diepen: &#8220;We are not a lobbying club, but we are always well informed about relevant developments, partly thanks to our people on the ground. New steps around tidal energy policy? We are the first to know. Are regulations coming up for the maritime industry? We&#8217;re right on top of it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van Diepen sees four major trends in his work for the foreseeable future. At the top of his list is geopolitics. &#8220;And then, of course, we also talk about the availability of critical raw materials. In the<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_23_1661\"> EU Critical Raw Materials Act<\/a>, a few things have been laid down about that, with the goal of a strategically independent position for Europe. Where do we get our raw materials from, and do we have sufficient insight into the extraction process?&#8221; Van Diepen now sees a lot of innovation on that playing field, partly driven by EIT InnoEnergy itself. &#8220;Lithium from Alsace, manganese from the Czech Republic. But we are also looking at recycling and biobased alternatives. With calls that companies can apply for, we try to stimulate innovations.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-486071d3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/europe-wants-to-free-itself-from-unwanted-dependencies-with-the-critical-raw-materials-act\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Europe wants to free itself from unwanted dependencies with the Critical Raw Materials Act\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/03\/%C2%A9-Copyright-European-Union-2023-NA.jpeg\" style=\"max-width: 150px; max-height: 150px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Europe wants to free itself from unwanted dependencies with the Critical Raw Materials Act<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Europe wants to free itself from unwanted dependencies with the Critical Raw Materials Act. Refining and recycling of critical raw materials<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>A second trend is seen in shipping. &#8220;Perhaps because that industry is relatively invisible to most people, major innovations here seem to have been absent for a long time. But there are still a lot of gains to be made, and we do see movement there now.&#8221; There is also the question of which industry is next ripe for disruption. &#8220;We will see new venture-building initiatives such as our ongoing initiative around green steel, <a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/?s=GravitHy\">GravitHy<\/a>, in southern France. The fertilizer sector will also start to move toward low-carbon.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van Diepen sees a fourth trend in the effects of rising interest rates, especially noticeable in a more negative investment climate. &#8220;There are fewer investors, and if there are any, they have become more cautious. Many ventures are taking longer. Climate tech, our sector, was an exception for a long time, but we are now seeing deal volume decline by 10 to 30%. As a result, many scale-ups are knocking on our door, simply because they are floundering elsewhere. But we have to disappoint them; we continue to focus on the early stage; that&#8217;s where our competitive advantage lies.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-e4594e57\"><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Vale and GravitHy agree to develop a plant dedicated to direct reduction iron ore briquettes production<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Vale and the French DRI producer GravitHy have agreed to pursue solutions focused on a carbon-neutral steelmaking process using Vale\u2019s innovative iron ore briquettes technology. &hellip; <a href=\"\">Continued<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fifth trend<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps there is even a fifth important trend, the EIT InnoEnergy investment expert notes. &#8220;And that is the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. incentive program for sustainable entrepreneurship. The law is still under consultation, everyone is waiting for the exact incentives, but the impact will be big. We are already seeing companies &#8211; including those within our portfolio &#8211; figuring out whether starting operations in the US makes sense. Don&#8217;t forget that this situation has a big impact on your competitive position and your chances of finding new investors. Similar companies raise ten times more money in the U.S. than in Europe.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, there are also the necessary European initiatives in return, Van Diepen notes. &#8220;Partly to counterbalance the American proposals, here we have the Industrial Green Plan and RePowerEU, to name just two examples. Europe is not sitting still.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-0215a7f8\"><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Decarbonizing Europe &#8211; The road to a cleaner continent<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Decarbonizing Europe The road to a cleaner continent Many policy documents have already spelled out that Europe must become greener and cleaner. Paper is patient, &hellip; <a href=\"\">Continued<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since 2010, the year of its founding, EIT InnoEnergy has supported some 330 climate tech start-ups in their early stages. Fifteen to twenty are added every year. And many of them have been able to make a real difference in the global energy transition. The results of this &#8220;innovation machine for the renewable energy sector&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1568,"featured_media":493974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-partner.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[32638],"location":[70256],"article_type":[6758],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-449241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability-nl","tag-eit-innoenergy","location-eu","article_type-interview"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"With over 300 start-ups in its portfolio, EIT InnoEnergy is the logical organization for investments in early-stage climate tech ventures from Europe.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Bart Brouwers","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/brewbart\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/reconnect-1.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Sustainability<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Sustainability<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/sustainability-nl\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">EIT InnoEnergy<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">EIT InnoEnergy<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on June 14, 2023","modified":"Updated on June 14, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on June 14, 2023 4:00 pm","modified":"Updated on June 14, 2023 4:00 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=449241"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=449241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}