SMART Buildings challenge for startups from Israel

Purpose of the call for projects

ENGIE is seeking disruptive technologies that will be essential to the homes and buildings of tomorrow.

ENGIE is actively trying to identify, assess, and test some ground breaking technologies coming from the Israeli startup ecosystem. These disruptive projects will contribute to executing ENGIE’s vision of SMART Buildings. Technologies used in these fields are changing very quickly: Internet of Things, energy-positive buildings, big data as a way of offering services to a building’s occupants, artificial intelligence for simulating how people use energy, etc. Buildings are also being turned into “virtual” environments, like many other physical spaces. Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides a digital view of every aspect of a building, which makes technical management easier.

ENGIE is actively looking for such innovative solutions which will either disrupt the existing energy and services markets or create additional value for our B2B customers.

Deadline for answering: June 5th at midnight

Who is this call for projects

This call for proposals is aimed exclusively at startups and entrepreneurs based in Israel.

Submissions must be made in English.

Rewards and Benefits :
• Pitch: Selected candidates will have the opportunity to participate in a startup pitch night in front of the Director of Smart Building Initiative, Engie Fab, a representative of Engie New Ventures, the Venture Capital company, and an Israeli VC.
• Laureates of the pitch event will be then directly connected with the relevant business units at ENGIE, as well as to ENGIE’s Corporate Venture Capital team.
• Laureate's projects will be followed up and supported in cooperation with iKare Innovation.

Typically, selected projects may lead to the development of a prototype/pilot, a proof of concept, investment and/or potential business collaboration.

Detailed description:

This call for projects is launched as part of ENGIE’s third global Innovation Week to be held from June 12 to 17, 2017. The agenda consists of around one hundred events in over twenty countries. Stay up-to-date with the proceedings on #InnovWeekENGIE.

This year’s ENGIE Innovation Week will meet the challenges of a world in “full 3D” : Decarbonized, Decentralized, Digitalized. It will do so in 1 week and 100 events on 5 continents.

This call for project is supported by iKare Innovation and local partners such as the Israeli Export Institute, the Smart Building Community, and the Israeli Ministry of Economy/New Tech.

Eligibility and selection criteria:

• Feasibility/ economic viability
• Coherence of the proposed business model
• Relevance to the topic
• Ability to launch project quickly/Ease of implementation
• Innovative nature of the subject
• User friendly character
• Development potential
• Return on investment period
• Maturity of project/solution
• Ability to be linked to existing and new systems
• Companies based in Israel

Selection procedure

• Initial selection of shortlisted applicants
• Contacts between finalists and members of the selection committee in order to better understand the shortlisted projects and make it easier to select winners
• Final publication of the 10 startups selected for the Pitching Night.

Projects will be selected in two stages:

Phase 1: a shortlist of 10 projects will be made based on the initial applications and will be invited to the live pitch event.

Phase 2: laureates of the pitch event will be invited to present their solutions in greater details to ENGIE Corporate Venture Capital team, and to relevant business units.

Provisional timetable:

• Launch of the call for projects: 25th of May
• Deadline for applications: 5th of June
• Examination and selection of projects: until 8th of June
• Live Pitch in front of professional Jury and announcement of winners: 13th of June, in Tel Aviv

Selection Committee and partner in the call for project:

• ENGIE Corporate Venture Capital team – ENGIE New Ventures
  ENGIE Innovation & New Business
  ENGIE Fab