Up to €20,000 will be awarded to selected entrepreneurial companies that participate in the Low Carbon Incubator Programme 2013, designed to make low carbon ideas into commercial successes.
Cllr James McKay with Bham Sci Park’s Henriette Lyttle and the low-carbon entrepreneurs
Run by Birmingham Science Park, the initiative is part of the European-wide Climate KIC (Knowledge Innovation Community). It follows on from the highly successful 2012 programme, which saw Ventive – located at the Park’s Faraday Wharf building – win the award for the most popular product at Ecobuild 2013.
Henriette Lyttle-Breukelaar, Head of Projects at Birmingham Science Park said: “National and international low carbon targets involve challenges, but also tremendous opportunities for the many talented entrepreneurs in our region.
“We already have a rapidly expanding community of enterprising people at the Science Park who benefit from exchanging ideas and working together. This European-wide programme is designed to create more diversification into the low carbon sector, which is set to grow and create significant wealth and jobs for the region. We are excited to be part of that, and I encourage anyone with a suitable idea or product to contact us and apply.”
The Low Carbon Incubator Programme is open to start-ups, as well as to more established companies who are working on new projects for the climate change market. The deadline for filing an online application on www.bsp-a.com is Friday 29th March 2013.
The project will be run in three phases. Business plan preparation, mentoring, hot-desking space and a range of networking opportunities will be available to all applicants that meet the stage one criteria. Entrepreneurs that qualify through to the second stage of the programme will receive more specific coaching to achieve investor readiness. The low carbon products and ideas will also qualify for entry into the European Venture Competition, being held this autumn in Wroclaw, Poland.
The entrepreneurs that progress through to the third and final stage of the Low Carbon Incubator Programme 2013 have access to international materclasses, trade missions and professional pitching training. They may also apply for grants of up to €20,000 to assist them with launching their products to the market. As a qualifying entrant into the European Venture Competition, the companies will significantly raise their profile, and the event also provides excellent opportunities for businesses to network with entrepreneurs and decision makers from the other participating RIC regions; Valencia (Spain); Emilia Romagna (Italy); Hessen (Germany); Lower Silesia (Poland) and Central Hungary.
The Low Carbon Incubator Programme 2013 is supported through the Climate Knowledge Innovation Community project, which receives funding from the European Commission through the European Institute for Innovation and Technology.
Interested entrepreneurs can download an application form from the www.bsp-a.com website, or contact Henriette Lyttle on [email protected].
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