Producing sustainable fuel with organic material. You can, even without being big. The slow revolution to power machines and engines without damaging the environment is making headway in Europe. The novelty is that alongside the large energy companies, which experiment with innovative low-emission systems in their research centres, there are now also startups. The most aggressive are accredited to the European Commission, denying all the lies about a "stepmother Europe and opposed to putting money into innovations". "If you have ideas, you propose them and we evaluate them to support them", seems to say the approval of 75 projects by the European Commission which has allocated 278 million euros.
Among the selected projects, there are precisely those on efficient fuels obtained from organic material. A good financial transaction for channel resources towards those sectors that must accompany the energy transition. If small and medium-sized businesses also contribute to the acceleration, it can only bring relief. On the one hand, the big companies are investing in medium-term projects with large-scale effects. On the other hand, they obtain funding to support traditional production cycles.
Energy startups, as recent analyzes say, can have outlets in more circumscribed areas, without, however, depressing their effectiveness. In any case, in Brussels they also announced an agreement with the European Bank Group with an ad hoc fund for equity investments in this type of company. According to the European agency Aise, the 278 million approved are the largest sum of funding for innovation. And the prospects are for further growth.
Of the 75 projects admitted, there are three from Italian companies: Point Plastic in Anagni, with a project on the recycling of plastic; Diapath of Martinengo (BG), which deals with diagnostic equipment, and LiquidWeb of Siena engaged in the field of artificial intelligence.
The awarded start-ups and SMEs are located in 15 states and 5 EU associated countries. The members of the Commission supplemented their work also with the granting of a "blended financing". A 39 beneficiaries are also recognized direct equity investments up to 17,5 million. “The future European Innovation Council will transform many more top science and world-class start-ups into global technology leaders,” explained Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, the instruction.
A context where Italy can play its own role by seizing the opportunities of the next tenders with experiments and projects that combine innovation and energy sustainability. A step in this direction was taken by the Italian Minister of Innovation, Paola Pisano, who with the slogan "the right to innovate" presented an amendment to the budget law to recognize an exemption for truly innovative startup projects in every field. A preferential lane according to which the ministry recognizes flexibility on the preparation times of digital platforms, before being put on the market. The field of energy may be the one of best experimentation.
