The Co-Innovation Awards of Basilicata Open LAB, the program to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the Basilicata Region, created by Eni, with the support of Shell Italia E&P, through Joule, Eni’s school for Business and with partners PoliHub and Consorzio ELIS, were presented today in Potenza.
The six winning projects, made up of a startup from all over Italy and a company from Basilicata, are:
Rehouseit and Sabia & C. will experiment with the use of a material with low environmental impact, which replaces the one currently in use for filling and restoring the excavation carried out for the laying of gas distribution pipelines.
- Bloom – SMUSH Materials
The collaboration between SMUSH and Bloom aims to develop new packaging for the company’s products from the by-products of lavender distillation that it generates, giving the startup the opportunity to test a new industrial application of the mycelium.
- Ranch Vito – Green Greener
The innovative startup Green Greener and Ranch Vito will conduct a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the biostimulant GG1 in improving the yield of organically grown crops also in response to the challenges of climate change. This study aims to provide concrete data on the potential of advanced biotechnological strategies in sustainable agriculture.
- Michele Leone Individual Company – SunCubes
SunCubes and the Michele Leone agricultural company will experiment with a wireless charging system for drones using laser technology. The goal is to increase the autonomy of these devices, allowing for more timely and precise monitoring of crops.
The PoC proposed by PIPEIN | Deep Diagnostic Robotics and DG Impianti consists of the inspection of a section of pipe belonging to the Pertusillo carrier located in the municipality of Missanello (PZ). The experimentation involves a 3D reconstruction using laser telemetry from a drone and internal photogrammetry from an ROV aimed at evaluating the state of degradation of the pipeline.
- Cascione Autotrasporti – Keet
Keet and Cascione Autotrasporti intend to test the startup’s solution on a selected sample of the company’s trucks, in order to generate a solution that allows logistics and transport companies to accurately monitor CO2 emissions, for the drafting of the Sustainability Report , mandatory from 2025 for medium and large Italian companies. Furthermore, the solution allows drivers to improve their driving style, helping to reduce Co2 emissions per km travelled.
Special mention to DIAN e Overspace Aviation for the potential impact on the territory of the proposed experimentation, which aims to use drones and satellites to guarantee water quality, starting with the innovative monitoring of the Monte Cotugno dam in Basilicata.
The selected projects were awarded a cash grant and the possibility of having access to a three-month trial development support program with the support of mentors and coaches from PoliHub and Joule.
Basilicata Open LAB is one of the Development Projects promoted by the co-owners of the Val d’Agri Concession provided for by the New Protocol of Intent (so-called “Non Oil” projects). The Call for Innovation that led to the selection of the winning projects focused on four key sectors: bioenergy, agritech, construction and sustainable mobility, with the aim of generating innovative experiences to be validated in the Lucanian territory, thanks to the support of specialist skills and funding.
“The experience in recent years in supporting entrepreneurial development in Basilicata – he claims Mattia Voltaggio, Head of Joule, Eni’s School for Business – was appreciated by the territory and the institutions. For this reason we have extended our scouting action from agritech to bio-energy to sustainable mobility and smart cities. The solutions identified range from new materials to consumption efficiency, through the reduction of water waste to sustainable packaging. The numbers illustrate this commitment: 120 startups from all over Italy responded to our innovation call, 50 companies from Basilicata applied to develop projects, generating over 200 business matches. Through the “Lucania Camp” we have also trained 24 young talents by making the skills of our mentors available and now the innovation desk activity aimed at startups, spinoffs and entrepreneurial teams is starting which aims to become a local point of reference for anyone who wants to do business in Basilicata”.
“As PoliHub, we deeply understand the needs of new innovative businesses, especially during the crucial phase of identifying a specific problem and analyzing how well the solution is able to satisfy the needs of the market, in which the validation process represents a key element fundamental for the growth of the startup. In Basilicata, local companies feel the need to innovate to be increasingly competitive and sustainable – he says Marco Bocciolone, President of PoliHub. Our matching work, carried out alongside Eni Joule, allows us to create synergies between innovative startups from all over Italy and Lucanian companies, which in this way open up to the world of innovation. This process not only brings technological and economic development benefits to Basilicata, but also has the potential to act as a model for the entire country system. We firmly believe that investing in innovation and collaboration is the key to a future of growth.”
“In this first year of the project, Basilicata Open LAB has laid the foundations for building a physical and digital Hub, starting activities aimed at involving various stakeholders – states Luca Profico, Head of Territorial Innovation of Consorzio ELIS – Young people from Lucania first and foremost, with the training program, “Lucania Camp”: 8 weeks of training on soft and hard skills, aimed at preparing young aspiring innovative entrepreneurs for the world of work. Professionals and companies were involved with vertical meetings on identified topics of interest. Finally, we connected startups, young people and experts with the Mentoring program supported by the digital hub which allowed the pairing of over 30 stakeholders with the ultimate aim of increasing business awareness, the hard skills to be achieved and the choice of figures of the team to carry forward an innovative project with a plan of 3 in-depth meetings”.
