Fifteen start-ups and scale-ups accepted the invitation to attend Galp Corporate Day, held in Lisbon, in partnership with the European Innovation Council (EIC). On stage at the Capitolio Theater, the presentations unveiled projects with the mission of 'captivating' the roughly 30 Galp employees present. The ideas presented by companies from eight different countries, with Portugal represented twice, focused on topics geared to consolidating the priorities defined by the energy corporation for innovation: Digital, Future Mobility, Energy Transition and Circular Economy. “This is, I would say, our D-Day for the road to innovation we have decided to take,” said Carlos Gomes da Silva, Galp CEO, at the opening session of the event, revealing firsthand the creation of the UP - Upcoming Energies platform, the company's new innovation ecosystem.
Carlos Gomes da Silva, Galp CEO, at the opening session of EIC Corporate Day with Galp
“We have 15 excellent SMEs and start-ups here, selected from a universe of more than 5,000 pursuant to a rigorous process,” Jorge Fernandes, Director of Innovation at Galp, emphasised to Energiser as he accompanied the presentations. The goal, he added, “is to identify between three and five projects we can work on directly, either in pilot or proof-of-concept fomat, with a view to implementing them in our system - because innovation in an abstract sense is one thing, while innovation in our operations or used by our customers is something else. “Once this step has been taken, Galp will attempt to move towards the integration and co-marketing or use of these ideas.
Jorge Fernandes, Galp Director of Innovation
In the opinion of Susana Quintana-Plaza, Galp COO, “we need to exhibit the innovation out there, and, to the extent we see a need for these products and services, we'll talk to these start-ups and ascertain what the best solutions for us are. The goal is to choose some of them, choose the best ones and develop them jointly.”
Moreover, Galp's Director of Innovation reminds us that the world will see an increase in energy needs of between 30% and 40% within twenty or thirty years, which justifies Galp investing 40% of its annual profit in projects and opportunities related to energy transition, which is already a reality. This year, the amount invested will rise to 400 million euros and will enable the company to speed up the process of opening up to the ecosystem “in an honest, collaborative and open manner, with a view to seeking out opportunities for the co-creation of value that can be shared with our partners”, underlined Jorge Fernandes.
Work for the next three decades
The goal of making Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050 is, as Pierre Roubaud, head of the European Innovation Council (EIC) says, “a huge challenge that will provide us with work for the next 30 years”. And, in order to achieve this goal, the executive believes that innovation comes from SMEs. “The number of good ideas we have in our innovation ecosystem is incredible,” he revealed at the EIC Corporate Day with Galp. The EIC-supported ecosystem currently has around 5,000 companies, which the organisation provides with funding, business training and contacts. These companies, he explains, "were chosen using a rigorous process involving around 2,000 external experts, where only 5% to 8% of the companies are actually selected."
Susana Quintana-Plaza highlighted the role start-ups can play in innovation at Galp
In the specific case of Galp, the partnership with the EIC enables, on the one hand, the company to actively search for specific solutions, and, on the other, provides the possibility of getting to know the innovative ideas proposed. “Start-ups have the speed, innovation and ability to produce at a very fast rate, in addition to the product and the desire to make it real. Galp has access to the market, technologies and infrastructure. The ideal combination involves start-ups providing the innovation and the business model, and Galp providing access to the market, customers and brand to help them scale. This is not about inventing the wheel, but scaling what already exists”, affirms Susana Quintana-Plaza.
With regard to the outcome of this workshop, there will be news in January, when the projects comprising Galp's ecosystem will be revealed. Preferably, “solutions capable of impacting people's lives and that can be more environmentally sustainable,” concludes Jorge Fernandes.