Press Release: Ten international tech-startups are ready to accelerate the development of sustainable cities

Ten startups have now been selected, by some of the leading Danish companies within sustainable urban development, to join the Urbantech innovation- and accelerator program.

From energy-producing windows to geotechnical analysis systems, the ideas range widely among ten startups selected to take part in the 2019 Urbantech Program. All have one thing in common: they can make our cities more sustainable.

A rigorous three month selection process narrowed 400 Danish and international applicants down to 10. The program will be based out of the BLOXHUB coworking space in BLOX on the Copenhagen waterfront, and will also reach across the country to draw on the best the country can offer. The program kicks off August 19th and will run for 12 weeks.

Through partnerships with a number of Danish companies, the program will contribute to the development of new solutions for the cities of the future. It’ll run over three years, supporting 10 startups each year. The goal is to help these startups make construction more efficient, buildings and energy systems more flexible and public spaces more multifunctional. Many of the startups also have a focus on how CO2 emissions can be reduced.

It is all connected to the Danish tradition of putting users and citizens at the center urban development. And a strong focus on quality of life – inside and out.

Danish design and global innovation

The 2019 Urbantech cohort will be able to draw on the unique Danish strengths within architecture, design and city planning. They’ll also have access to international experts, technological innovation and business development. These Danish and international startups will enjoy tailored support to help them accelerate growth and impact, As part of this some 100+ mentors and selected investors will also engage and support the startups. The program is a collaboration between private companies and the leading institutions in the respective areas, which all contribute to giving the selected startups an intense and tailor-made acceleration, access to business units and even customers.
Urbantech expects the participating startups will be able to scale their businesses even further after the program has ended, and be a part of creating the future of sustainable cities. This is a global ambition as well as within Denmark’s borders. This will also support the Urbantech programe’s even greater ambition: to strengthen Denmark’s leadership position in creating sustainable cities. As well as the ecosystem enabling it.

Corporate innovation leaders

The program partners are COWI, VKR Holding / VELUX and EWII who are all investing both money and time in the program. In collaboration with their own business units, they will work with the selected entrepreneurs to further develop their technology and business. The entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to work with the program partners on innovation-focused pilot projects.

A committed ecosystem of support

In addition to the business partners, Urbantech is also supported by the philanthropic association Realdania and The Danish Industry Foundation. Urbantech is run by Rainmaking in collaboration with BLOXHUB, Danish Design Centre, Danish Architecture Center and Amazon Web Services.

CEO QUOTES

COWI CEO Lars-Peter Søbye:?? ?

“Every week, more than three million people move to big cities all over the world. This creates great challenges and a need for innovative solutions. Being a part of the Urbantech program, allows us to support the development of new sustainable, digital solutions, while being inspired by the work environment we see in the startup world”

VKR Holding CEO Mads Kann-Rasmussen:

? ??“Innovation and sustainability are important parts of our DNA, and to support this, we’d like to increasingly expose our companies, including VELUX, to startups and the entrepreneurial space”

EWII CEO L?ars Bonderup Bjørn: ?

“Digitally integrated solutions in buildings are necessary to secure the transition to sustainable energy sources. Flexibility within the energy system is necessary to match consumption with production in a fossil fuels-free future”

THE TEN STARTUPS

Next Energy Technologies | United States

NEXT’s cutting edge solar technology transforms windows into energy producing assets with unsurpassed aesthetics, performance, and economics.

AIRBOXLAB | Luxembourg

AIRBOXLAB’s Foobot monitors 24/7 indoor air pollution and creates Demand Control ventilation, filtration and purification through algorithms.

SAALG Geomechanics | Spain

A software solution based on inverse analysis, cloud computing and machine learning algorithms to minimize geotechnical uncertainties.

Anyware Solutions | Denmark

Anyware offers a unique Customer Engagement and Analytics Platform for partners based on data collected by the award-winning Smart Adaptor.

Moeco | Germany

Moeco is a blockchain-powered platform designed to provide global IoT connectivity.

Catenda | Norway

Bimsync by Catenda saves time, money and the environment. It is the next generation cloud based collaboration platform where construction information comes alive.

PurCity | Denmark

PurCity has developed a self-cleaning and highly-efficient air purification system that can be easily integrated into any new or existing building and turn them into large scale air purification systems.

Rysta | Germany

RYSTA facilitates sustainable protection of Real Estate assets by providing a modular IoT monitoring solution to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Powerfox | Germany

Powerfox provides a solution that makes household energy data available for various parties on a scalable platform.

OrxaGrid | United Kingdom

OrxaGrid provide smart solutions through retrofitting IoT sensor devices on critical grid nodes and predicting efficiency improvements.

CONTACT

Michael Ambjorn
Managing Director, Urbantech
?mam@rainmaking.io

Charlotte Holm
Head of Press, COWI
+45 56 40 19 89
?chhm@cowi.com

Jens Bekke
Director, Global Media Relations
VKR Holding/VELUX
+ 45 45 16 48 72 ?
jens.bekke@velux.com

Anya Wang Palm
Head of PR, EWII
+45 51 15 25 55 ?anpa@ewii.com

Pia Møller Munksgaard
Head of Press, Realdania
+45 29 69 52 49 ?
pmm@realdania.dk

Ole Østrup
Head of Communications, The Danish Industry Foundation
+45 33 37 62 08?
?oos@industriensfond.dk

Read more at: ?urbantechprogram.io

Program partners

Realdania

Realdania is a philanthropic association with approximately 155,000 members. Our mission is to improve the quality of life by improving the built environment – the physical surroundings of our everyday life. Realdania has since year 2000 supported more than 3,350 projects with more than 18 billion DKK. Learn more: realdania.dk

The Danish Industry Foundation

The Danish Industry Foundation is a philanthropic foundation working towards strengthening the competitiveness of the Danish industry. This is done within areas like internationalization, innovation, development of competences, the evolution and utilization of new knowledge, and implementation of new technology. Learn more: ?industriensfond.dk

COWI

COWI is a leading consulting group that creates value for customers, people and society through our unique 360° approach. With world-class experts within engineering, environment and economy we take on these challenges from many different angles in order to create more coherent solutions for our customers. Learn more: ?cowi.dk

VKR Holding

VKR Holding A/S is a holding and investment company. We create value through investments and ownership of companies that develop, produce and market products useful to society. Our products bring daylight, fresh air and a better environment into people’s everyday lives. VKR Holding is the parent company in the VKR Group, which include business areas like roof windows & skylights (ex. VELUX), vertical windows and doors (ex. VELFAC & Rationel), as well as thermal solar energy (Arcon-Sunmark). Learn more: ?vkr-holding.com

EWII

The EWII Group is the Triangle Region’s local energy company. The EWII Group is helping shape the future of the energy industry and plays a central role in the development of the intelligent solutions and sustainable energy technologies of the future. Through energy, we will create the society of tomorrow. We make responsible and visionary investments in the development of our society. Learn more: ?ewii.com

IMAGES FOR PRESS USE

Download all our print-quality images and logos on our main press page here: urbantechprogram.io/press