Powering Up Green Energy!
Fourth edition of Huawei Startup Challenge – 2024
#HUAWEISSTARTUPCHALLENGE4
About the Competition
The fourth edition of the Huawei Startup Challenge in collaboration with Startup Academy targeted Polish startups dedicated to broadening the application and potential of green energy.
Visionaries amongst us conceive groundbreaking ideas and schemes daily, which, with adequate backing, could significantly influence the energy sector. Partnerships between the right entities pave the way for these concepts, thereby enhancing the welfare of current and future populations. This year’s contest honored the most innovative solutions that facilitate and disseminate methods of green energy procurement and usage, as well as contribute to improving essential factors for energy efficiency.
The jury, comprising eminent figures from academia, business, and public expertise, will selected the top solutions based on contest entries.
Prizes and winners
FIRST PLACE
100 000 PLN
Institute of Technology Optimization
for a project of Floating River Current Power Plant (PEW)
SECOND PLACE
60 000 PLN
WindTak
for a revolutionary system that combines improved performance with reduced maintenance costs of existing wind turbines
THIRD PLACE
40 000 PLN
Kuuler
for a radiative cooling panel that operates based on nonlinear thermal radiation reflection
Nomad Electric prize - Data Science Challenge
15 000 PLN
+ mentorship
WindTak
Nomad Electric prize in Data Science Challenge
Nextbike prize - Audience Award
Annual access to Nextbike city bikes for the startup team
W2H2
Nextbike Audience Award for the W2H2 reactor, a cutting-edge system that transforms hydrocarbon waste through high-temperature pyrolysis at 850°C
Participants
Who did we invite to participate?
We sought socially conscious startups at various developmental phases, focusing on green energy innovation. We called upon ambitious Polish innovators eager to make a global impact with their creative projects and seeking further opportunities for their ideas’ evolution. If you aim to change the world and are ready to deploy creative technological solutions for a more efficient energy resource utilization on Earth, this challenge was meant for you.
Join us in future editions of #HuaweiStartupChallenge!
Competition objectives
The overarching aim of the Huawei Startup Challenge program is to spotlight the most inventive Polish startups and assist in their evolution into successful enterprises.
- demonstrate how technology can aid in renewable energy sourcing and utilization
- promote understanding of innovative sustainable energy solutions and renewable energy technology
- motivate diverse entities to collaborate towards a common goal – advancing tools for more effective green energy use in Poland and globally
- enhance the Polish startup ecosystem, particularly focusing on impact startups
Timeline
Challenges
We were looking for innovative ideas to revolutionize the production and use of green energy.
Startups could take part in a special challenge track consisting of tasks, expert feedback, and dedicated activities designed to improve and promote their solutions.
In the main challenge, 20 startups selected by the Competition Jury took part.
The Challenge!
The startups created 2-minute videos presenting their innovative solutions, focusing on the specific problems they address and their environmental impact. Each video served as a form of social campaign aimed at raising awareness about the urgent need for an environmentally friendly energy transition.
The Task!
The 20 selected startups also recorded 1-minute video pitches, which were then published on the Huawei Startup Challenge website. The startup that received the highest number of public votes was awarded a Wild Card, securing a place in the HSC Finals without Jury evaluation!
Nomad Electric Challenge
Nomad Electric was looking for data-driven solutions to support the growth and efficiency of the renewable energy sector — particularly in the areas of data analysis, machine learning, and AI for identifying trends, optimizing resource use, and forecasting or managing the performance of renewable energy systems. The proposed solutions were expected to enhance energy efficiency, reduce costs, and maximize the potential of renewable sources.
Competition Jury
Dr. eng. Olga Orynycz
Agnieszka Oleksyn-Wajda
Aleksandra Jurkowska
Paweł Czaus
Krzysztof Burda
Piotr Kamiński
dr inż. Jarosław Tworóg
Prof. Jerzy Domżał
Aleksandra Szwed
Arkadiusz Pączka
Agnieszka Pietrzak
Paweł Maj
Szymon Witoszek
prof. Marcin Bajkowski
Albert Gryszczuk
Łukasz Skiba
Organizers
The competition was organized by Huawei and Startup Academy
HUAWEI
Startups and small enterprises are today’s leading innovators and pioneers in the business world. An increasing number of startups are seeking comprehensive digital solutions for the development of their ideas and products. Huawei, as a provider of solutions in the realm of IT and communication infrastructure as well as smart devices, has been assisting startups to capitalize on the opportunities presented by digital transformation for many years.
Offering solutions across four key areas—telecommunications networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services—Huawei endeavors to supply digital devices and solutions to individuals, businesses, and households alike, thus creating a fully connected, intelligent world.
At the same time, over 194,000 of Huawei employees are committed to developing innovative solutions for telecommunications operators, enterprises and consumers, which are utilized in more than 170 countries, thereby reaching a third of the world’s population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is wholly owned by its employees.
STARTUP ACADEMY
We assist large corporations in generating and implementing new solutions and fostering a culture of innovation. We support local governments in creating ecosystems where entrepreneurs can more easily conduct their business and we help startups build scalable business models and secure development funding.
We bridge large companies with startups, creating a platform for effective collaboration between them. We develop acceleration programs in which we aid organizations in producing innovative solutions, products, and services through cooperation with creative and flexible entrepreneurs.
Since November 2019 we have also been an Accredited Business Environment Institution with an Innovation Center profile, highlighting the quality of our work while meeting the high standards expected by certifying entities.
NOMAD ELECTRIC - Competition Partner
Nomad Electric leads in Poland’s Operations & Maintenance (O&M) of large-scale photovoltaic farms being a top provider of comprehensive “turnkey” construction services. The company operates in several European Union countries, managing technical service agreements for a portfolio of photovoltaic projects totaling over 1.4 GWp.
With more than 400 MWp in its EPC project portfolio, Nomad Electric manages PV power plants through a modern Monitoring Center and proprietary SCADA Nomad NX software, continually maximizing installations’ profitability through cutting-edge technologies such as electroluminescence imaging, drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras and machine learning algorithms.
Honorary Patronage
Honorary Partner
Transport Patron
Media Patrons
