Founders on the Fast Lane
The A² Adlershof Accelerator is entering its second round
A² stands for the Adlershof Accelerator. The programme aims at bringing together young and established companies and is now entering its second round. The focus stays on energy.
Stefan Thon has a dream: his wish that every roof in Germany gets a solar collector. Thon is co-founder of Sunride GmbH, a spin-off company from the Interaction Design Lab at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, founded in 2014. Its founders have developed a software solution for controlling operations in decentralized energy production. “We make sure end-consumers of on-site electricity projects receive a correct bill and the facility owners their money”, says Thon.
To implement concrete projects after having developed initial prototypes, Sunride applied for the energy-focused “A² Adlershof Accelerator” and was one of eight start-ups taking part in the programme. The accelerator’s goal is to bring established companies and young start-ups together to jointly develop a pilot project over the course of five months. Sunride was successful. “We started a project with the local district heating provider BTB, which is nearing completion,” says Thon enthusiastically. The idea is to implement a sophisticated solution for on-site energy generation for the tenants of a Berlin-based housing association.
Yvonne Plaschnick of WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH, the A²’s project manager, sums up the value of the programme: “Coaching aside, the real added value for start-ups are the contacts to established companies.” She and the A² team have gathered the consistently positive feedback to the Adlershof Accelerator programme from start-ups and established companies. This was virgin soil for WISTA, who invented the A² programme and acts as a sparring partner for pilot projects.
The A² is getting considerable attention. More and more large companies are buying into the programme. “We attracted six established companies this time – twice as many as last time,” says Plaschnick. The “pioneers” of the first round are BTB GmbH, GASAG AG, and Stromnetz Berlin GmbH. The line-up now features renowned energy companies such as Alliander AG, Enovos International S.A. and MVV Energie AG as potential partners for young companies to test-run their products. Moreover, the bne Association of Energy Market Innovators is supporting the Adlershof Accelerator with its energy industry expertise and its extensive network of about 50 innovative companies.
The programme is now entering the “critical stage” leading up to the second edition of “A² Smart Energy”. Seventeen start-ups were invited to the so-called Pitching Day in mid-March. The ideas ranged from clay ceiling heating to green data centres, from next-generation energy management to micro grids. Every company had five minutes to present itself, followed by a Q&A. In a round of individual meetings, the established companies then had the opportunity to find out which start-up had the potential for a pilot project.
“After this first filtering, ten start-ups were still in the race,” Plaschnick tells us. Her next task is to determine whose project idea will be implemented. The first round of the programme had shown how time-consuming the pilot projects can be. Plaschnick and her accelerator team recommend scrutinizing the companies’ capacities and rather focus one or two projects, instead of leaving more unfinished.
What’s the next step? The A² programme starts on May, 3rd 2017 and lasts for five months. Critical issues with regard to products, companies and industries are worked on in themed sessions. Simultaneously the pilot projects will be realised with the aim of presenting results on Demo Day in September. Hopefully, the new participants will look back and say: “Our expectations were exceeded.” Like Stefan Thon.
By Sylvia Nitschke for Adlershof Journal
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