Italgas and I3P launch “NewGen Construction Site”: a call for startups for innovative sustainability

The activity aims to identify cutting-edge solutions and technologies to accelerate the transformation of work on construction sites and promote the transition towards a new sustainable way of building.

Turin, March 11, 2024 - Italgas, leading Network Tech Company in the sectors of gas distribution, water, energy efficiency and IT, launched a new call for startups in collaboration with I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino.

  The call is aimed at seeking innovative solutions and technologies for the "NewGen Construction Site" and falls within the scope of "Ideas 4 Italgas," an open innovation program launched by the Italgas Group in 2020 to select the best startups and SMEs to support the digital transformation of networks and the sustainability of the Group's activities.

More specifically, this call aims to explore existing innovations both domestically and internationally that can contribute to shaping the profile of sustainable construction sites. This initiative aims to accelerate the transition process towards a new way of building energy infrastructure and working safely on construction sites of the future.

The call is open to proposals from startups and SMEs offering innovative solutions and technologies aimed at reducing environmental impact, facilitating early detection of anomalies, and optimizing operational costs associated with construction activities. Italgas has identified five main areas of interest in this regard: gas network design, construction site monitoring and safety, new network construction, waste management, and infrastructure maintenance. Participation in the initiative is free, and applications can be submitted in either Italian or English.

Companies established in Italy or abroad, preferably with teams, resources, and assets dedicated to the project being proposed, as well as working groups composed of two or more individuals who are striving to develop technological innovations stemming from research activities, are eligible to respond to Italgas and I3P's call. Projects can be at various stages of development: from the conceptual stage to translating an idea into a prototype within the year, from having a prototype already developed and validated or awaiting validation in the market, to having a product/service already commercialized or about to be. Applications are open until May 6, 2024, on the website ideas4italgas.italgas.it, which also contains the full call for proposals. Subsequently, Italgas and I3P will evaluate the received proposals and announce the winning projects during a final event within the month of June.  

The selected projects will have the opportunity to develop a Proof-of-Concept with Italgas, collaborating directly with the group to field-test their technological proposal and assess the feasibility of the presented use case. Additionally, teams chosen from the call will have free access to both mentorship and Italgas laboratories to explore how to integrate innovative projects into the group's processes. They will also have access to a six-month incubation program at I3P, providing strategic consultancy and entrepreneurial training to maximize startup growth.

"Open innovation for Italgas - explained Raffaella Marcuccio, Italgas Procurement and Material Management Director - is not only an endless source of innovation and a driver of the future, but also a continuous platform for dialogue that allows the Group to grow and foster growth in the communities where it operates. With this new call, we aim to continue the virtuous path that has allowed us to select over 500 startups, test their respective technologies, and collaborate in the development of new prototypes, which in some cases have contributed to transforming our daily operations in terms of innovation and sustainability. This is precisely what we aim to achieve with this new call dedicated to the development of a new green paradigm for our construction sites”.

"We are proud to continue the Open Innovation activities initiated with the Italgas group in the previous years and to offer all startups, not just those in our network, a new tangible opportunity for collaboration with a world-class corporate entity,” commented Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P. “The Ideas 4 Italgas program and its new call focused on construction sites of the future represent the ideal meeting point between the evolving needs of a significant market sector and the technological inventiveness of young enterprises. The role of the incubator will be to facilitate the meeting between the demand and supply of innovation, generating value for all actors involved in the process".

****

Italgas

Italgas is a Network Tech Company, a leader in the gas, water, energy efficiency, and IT sectors. As the top operator in Italy and Greece for natural gas distribution and third in Europe, Italgas manages a network spanning over 81,000 kilometers, serving approximately 8 million customers. Through its subsidiaries in the water sector, the Group directly and indirectly serves 6.2 million people (equivalent to 10% of the Italian population) concentrated in the regions of Lazio, Sicily, and Campania.

For more information: www.italgas.it

 

I3P - Incubatore del Politecnico di Torino

The Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino (I3P) supports the creation and development of high-tech innovative start-ups with high growth potential, founded both by university researchers and students or by external entrepreneurs, providing strategic consulting services, coaching, mentoring, fundraising support and work spaces. Founded in 1999 in Turin, Italy, I3P is a non-profit, joint-stock consortium company with 6 equal associates: Politecnico di Torino, LINKS Foundation, Finpiemonte, the Chamber of Commerce of Turin, the Metropolitan City of Turin and Fondazione Piemonte Innova. The mission of I3P is to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in order to enhance both the economic growth and the employment in highly innovative industry fields and areas, employing a strategy of collaboration with private subjects and institutions who are engaged in research and advanced training, in services for technology transfer, in the financing of innovation, in internationalisation towards new markets.

For more information: www.i3p.it/en

Italgas Press Office

Mirko Cafaro | +39 331 6092084 | ufficio.stampa@italgas.it

I3P Press Office

Press Play – Communication and Public Relations

Alessandro Tibaldeschi | +39 333 6692430 | ale@agenziapressplay.it