Parliamentary State Secretary Ms Brigitte Zypries © Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy / Susanne Eriksson

On 21 September 2016, Berlin hosted a Start-up Night. The idea behind the event was to bring young start-ups together with established companies from industry and energy to explore opportunities for cooperation and join forces in shaping the energy supply of the future. The Start-up Night, which focused on digitisation and the energy transition, saw start-ups reveal ideas for new business models, including networked solar-energy storage, renewable energy from the neighbourhood, and artificial intelligence for energy conservation in the home.

One evening, dozens of ideas

Other ideas brought along by the young entrepreneurs included special cloud services, solutions for stable grids and ways of using carbon emissions. These new business models cut across all areas of the energy system, from generation and distribution, to sales, right through to metering, use, and storage. The start-ups pitched their idea to company and corporate representatives in the form of short presentations. Established companies also had the opportunity to present their projects.

Parliamentary State Secretary Zypries: “Digital change and the energy transition are megatrends”

The Start-up Night was opened by Parliamentary State Secretary and Federal Government Start-up Ambassador Ms Brigitte Zypries, who said the following: “Digital change and the energy transition are two megatrends that have a considerable impact on the energy industry.” She also added that these megatrends are drivers of innovation and new business models. “We need to ensure that cooperation between start-ups and established companies works well, as this is the key to success for the digital transformation. I am therefore very glad that so many start-ups have come to this event.

The Start-up Night is part of the New Age for Entrepreneurship operated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The aim of this initiative is to give start-ups a helping hand in becoming better networked with established companies. Promoting cooperation between young and established companies through company matching also forms part of the Ministry’s 2025 Digital Strategy.

Start-ups are the key drivers of the digital transformation. Digitisation offers enormous potential for innovation in energy, particularly for the energy transition. It is also of crucial importance for all other industries in Germany and for their ability to remain competitive.