It’s called the Nexthy Booster Program and it’s an acceleration program aimed at early stage startups and SMEs active in the green hydrogen sector. An initiative by Enel Green Power presented during the works of #Sios2022 Sicily Edition organized by Startupitalia in collaboration with Enel. The Nexthy Booster Program aims to support startups in the development, testing and validation of new technologies for the production, storage and transport of green hydrogen.
Da Etna Valley a Energy Valley
Enel Green Power, which has identified Sicily as a strategic hub for the development of green hydrogen, will make funding, technical know-how and an international network of contacts available to participants, supporting startups on their global growth path and allowing them to establish profitable partnerships with all the business lines of the group and with the major companies active in this sector. In Sicily, as it will be remembered, in the area between the municipalities of Sortino and Carlentini in the province of Syracuse, the Hydrogen Industrial Lab of Enel Green Power will be built in the coming years, an innovation laboratory on an industrial scale financed with the IPCEI Hy2Tech initiative « to accelerate the implementation of technologies related to the development of green hydrogen, essential for the decarbonisation of industrial sectors where direct electrification is not technically efficient or economically convenient”. “In contexts where electrification is not easily achievable, green hydrogen is the key solution for decarbonisation: it has zero emissions and has promising development prospects – says Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of Enel Green Power -. A unique industrial laboratory in the world will be operational here in Catania where we will work together with our partners to allow green hydrogen to become competitive, to the benefit of the projects we will carry out in the world and of the entire ecosystem”. And Catania is just a starting point of a strategy that has great ambitions: «If Silicon Valley is the best place for digital, Etna Valley is becoming the Energy Valley, or rather the best place for the world energy revolution – he says Ernesto Ciorra, Innovabilty Director of Enel –. We are proud to support this ecosystem and to help accelerate the development of new solutions by fostering the connection between technology suppliers, industrial partners, system integrators, research centers, venture capitalists and startups from all over the world“.
In Sicily, the number of startups has doubled in five years
The Catania stage of #Sios2022 Sicily Edition was also an opportunity to take stock of the startup ecosystem in the region. According to the data contained in the report presented in the shadow of Etna, «Sicily has seen the presence of innovative companies on its territory double in five years: from 359 in 2017 to 700 this year. A goal achieved thanks to the support of private individuals, universities and a diverse entrepreneurial fabric projected towards the future, engaged in fields such as robotics, renewables, sustainable mobility and agritech». A study that “analyzes the evolution of an ecosystem with great potential and I’m sure will stimulate Sicilian startuppers and young entrepreneurs to join our tech community to share experiences, information and participate in events related to open innovation” says Dario Scacchetti, CEO of StartupItalia.
Palermo and Catania in the top twenty innovative cities
According to the research, among the sectors of activity of innovative companies, in line with the Italian panorama, the production of software is affirmed, where 29.8% of Sicilian startups operate. Followed by scientific research (13.8%), information services (8.1%), manufacturing (7.8%) and the world of commerce (4.8%). There is also a presence (1.7%) of innovative companies engaged in the supply of energy, gas and steam. The data from the Business Register underline other characteristics of the registered Sicilian startups, such as the “production class”: 40.7% have a production value of up to 100 thousand euros; 17.5% operate in a range that goes from 100,000 to 500,000 euros. Only 3% is close to one million euros. Young people (under 35) are at the helm of 17.8% of Sicilian startups. Women manage 122 startups, but the inclusion of women within teams is still low: only 55 startups (7.8%) have a majority of women within them. Among the cities, only Catania and Palermo manage to enter the top 20 Italian cities in the ranking of the “most innovative”: 13th Catania and 15th Palermo.