Six winners of the program to support Eni’s innovation and entrepreneurship, through Joule
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 delivered in Potenza.
The six winning projectsmade 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 low environmental impact material, which replaces the one currently in use for filling and restoring the excavation carried out for the laying of gas distribution pipes.
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.
The innovative startup Green Greener and Ranch Vito will conduct a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the GG1 biostimulant 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.
SunCubes and Michele Leone Farm will test 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.
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 can allow logistics and transport companies to accurately monitor CO2 emissions, for the preparation of the Sustainability Report, mandatory from 2025 for medium and large Italian companies. Furthermore, the solution allows to improve the driving style of drivers, helping to reduce CO2 emissions per km traveled.
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 foreseen by the New Memorandum of Intent (so-called “Non-Oil” projects). The Call for Innovation that led to the selection of the winning projects was focused on four key sectors: bioenergy, agritech, construction and sustainable mobility, with the aim of generating innovative experiences to be validated in the Lucanian area, thanks to the support of specialist skills and funding .
“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 companies, especially during the crucial phase of identifying a specific problem and analyzing how much the solution is able to satisfy the needs of the market, where the validation process represents a fundamental step for the growth of the startup. In Basilicata, local companies feel the need to innovate to be increasingly competitive and sustainable – he claims 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.”
“Basilicata Open LAB in this first year of the project has laid the foundations for building a physical and digital Hub, launching activities aimed at involving various stakeholders – he claims Luca Profico, Head of Territorial Innovation of Consorzio ELIS – First of all, young people from Lucania, 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 that allowed the pairing of over 30 stakeholders with the ultimate goal of increasing business awareness, the hard skills to be achieved and the choice of team figures to carry forward an innovative project with a schedule of 3 in-depth meetings”.
