3 minutes read time
05/12/2018
The revolution of data-driven energy savings
Energy-saving technology for the industry
BigDa Solutions, shortlisted for El Periódico de la Energía Awards
In March, the European Data Incubator, EDI, opened the call for proposals to solve Big Data challenges set by different multinationals in Europe. This initiative is part of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Fifteen large companies in Europe set a challenge to be met using a set of data they provide to the programme. Participants can win up to a maximum of €100,000 of European funds by meeting the set milestones and passing the programme's phases.
Out of a total of 277 startups that were initially interested, up to 45 proposals could be selected, but only 30 were chosen to take part in the first phase. This first, exploratory phase consists of defining each startup's initial solution and developing a first proof of concept for the company. To this end, the company provides a set of data with which the startup demonstrates the viability of its proposed idea.
Last October, the Datathon (Data-marathon) was held in Berlin in which each startup presented both the technical development and the business model of the solution. The 16 best projects were selected to move on to the next phase of experimentation. This four-month period aims to develop the product, for which a coach is assigned to each startup to define the milestones to be met. The accelerator programme also offers training courses oriented to the technical infrastructures to which access is allowed during this programme, as well as support to help develop the business model.
During this period, the corresponding coach is in charge of evaluating the development of the project, although it will be next February when the products will be shown and both the coaches and representatives of the large companies will evaluate the results. The final phase will host the six best Big Data products in Europe to promote their commercialisation and/or foreign investment.
In October, the second call was opened for big companies in Europe to present new challenges focused on Big Data, so that in April startups and data scientists will have a new opportunity to take part in this acceleration programme.
Once the accelerator programme has been presented, Bigda Solutions would like to point out that we are very happy to have the opportunity to work with Volkswagen Navarra. In this experimentation phase we are developing an automated control system for the ignition of the 5 thermal power plants with the aim of obtaining more efficient starts and stops. With this we intend to help them to reduce gas consumption and, as a consequence, CO2 emissions. We are working hard to get good results in the next evaluation in February and to create a useful tool for Volkswagen.
