Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid

23.04.2024

Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator, the accelerator led by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Europe’s leading climate innovation agency EIT Climate-KIC, has just launched its fourth call for cleantech start-ups and is accepting applications until 10th May.

The acceleration programme targets start-ups that are developing solutions related to the transformation of cities in verticals such as community retrofitting, green spaces, mobility, renewable energy or information and data.

The selection criteria focuses on early-stage ventures that have innovative and scalable technologies and/or business models with high climate adaptation and mitigation potential. In addition, companies must have been established less than five years ago, be headquartered in the European Union, and be a committed team of at least two people.

Connection and investment, the pillars of the programme

The ClimAccelerator is structured in two stages developed during the course of six months. The first phase is focused on the connection with the ecosystem and the main stakeholders who are actively involved in the cities' climate strategy. The goal is to promote collaboration with a multi-level and multi-actor approach to achieve actions of greater impact. 

Impact investment, scalability and internationalisation will be the key areas addressed in the second stage. Start-ups will also gain access to EIT Climate-KIC´s European investment ecosystem and community, with opportunities to  expand into new markets.

Additionally, the accelerator offers specialised training sessions taught by experts in the fields of investment and sustainability, as well as access to international entrepreneurship events and tools for assessing the environmental impact and emissions mitigation potential of the start-ups’ solutions.

In its fourth year running, the Clean Cities Spain Climaccelerator is expected to exceed 100 total companies supported. Annually, past programme participants have attracted more than 30 million euros of investment and more than half have launched new products or services, growing high added value deeptech ecosystems in cities.

The call will be open until May 10th. Start-ups interested in participating should complete the online form available on the programme website: www.cleancities-accelerator.com.

Cities addressing the climate challenge

Home to 75 percent of Europeans and responsible for more than 70 percent of global CO2 emissions, cities can lead the European Union’s pathway to a carbon-free world. Achieving net zero in an inclusive way will be an extraordinary undertaking for each and every city and will require profound and systemic changes.

Innovation and investment in technology are central axes of a strategy aimed at transforming our urban environments into greener, more resilient and healthier places to live.

Proposals such as Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator are committed to entrepreneurship as a lever of change to support and solve this challenge. The mission, powered by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and EIT Climate-KIC, is to create a global programme where start-ups, entrepreneurship support organisations, local governments, and industry experts join forces to innovate, catalyse, and scale the power of climate solutions.

Other public institutions involved in the Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator include the City Hall of Madrid and Zaragoza, the Zaragoza City of Knowledge Foundation and international corporates such as Ferrovial.

About Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator

The Clean Cities Spain ClimAccelerator is an acceleration programme launched in 2020 with the support of the EIT Climate-KIC, with the aim of having an impact on climate change in urban areas, as well as the commercialization of clean technologies (clean tech). The programme is aimed at startups that develop solutions with special emphasis on transforming urban ecosystems so that they are climate neutral, from mobility to waste, energy or health. There are already more than 70 startups from more than 15 different countries that are members of the Clean Cities community.