An energy efficiency marketplace, creative workshops and conferences were held in more than 20 countries around the world on Monday, June 15.
The first ENGIE Innovation Week began this Monday, June 15, with a single theme: innovating by networking! Group employees, experts, scientists, innovators and students came together in more than 20 countries to discuss innovation for energy efficiency.
In Paris, a first discussion with economist and writer Erik Orsenna focused on: “Innovation at the heart of energy management.” According to the Economist, the urgent need to address the threat to our planet is focusing human minds more clearly than ever on finding innovative solutions.
The 10th anniversary of AXELERA - one of the largest competitiveness clusters of the Lyon region – was celebrated at Lyon City Hall with a presentation of its key achievements over the past decade. As a founder member of AXELERA, ENGIE is using its facilities to develop the Gaya project to produce biomethane from biomass.
The ENGIE Belgium Innovation Club met at ENGIE headquarters in Brussels to promote innovation, support development, and facilitate the process of bringing innovative ideas from Group employees to maturity. Personal accounts from sponsors accompanied a presentation of the results achieved by an experimental business incubator, which ended with an appeal for new ideas from within the Group.
The incubator concept, which gives innovators the resources they need to put their ideas into action, was an integral part of the meetings held on Day 1. Examples of innovative projects were also presented, including the Energy Navigator startup incubated by Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands, with support from ENGIE. This project offers a solution to optimize building energy performance and reduce building carbon footprint; its algorithms are revolutionizing the way building data are managed.
Lastly, a partnership with the University Politehnica of Bucharest in Romania has been signed to encourage student innovation and transform students’ ideas into businesses. The event also provided the opportunity to award prizes to students whose scientific work has received international recognition.
Find out more about the Innovation Week here.
Source: ENGIE