The Global Expedition

Twelve start-ups who were selected to participate in the programme are taken on a global expedition with utility partners, investors and energy experts. 

Module 1 - Silicon Valley, United States

With the twelve​ start-ups selected the partners were invited to an immersion week in the global capital of technology innovation, Silicon Valley. ​

Through the guidance of the eight utility partners, the start-ups attended workshops and seminars which centred on the idea of clean energy, commercialisation and the piloting process. Start-ups came away with the ability to speak the language of utility companies, enabling more fluent communication of their business ideas.

Module 2, Part 1 - Lisbon, Portugal

​The first stop in module two is the city of Lisbon, one of the fastest growing technology hubs in Europe. The start-ups took part in customer adoption modules and had one to one time with their utility partners. 

Module 2, Part ​2 - The Free Electrons and #ESBpitch​off, Dublin, Ireland

The Dublin event, hosted by ​Irish start-up entrepreneur and former journalist, Mark Little saw the twelve start-ups compete in a 'Pitch Off' competition to win $25,000 (USD). Led by ESB's Innovation team, this competition saw the finalists perfect their pitch in front of a leading investment and start-up community.

The competition was staged in ​two rounds, each of the pitches were selected at random with the start-ups facing off against one another and the winner was selected by the audience. Six start-ups progressed to the second round with one wildcard entry selected by the judges to have a second chance at the top prize.

The final seven then took a series of questions from an expert panel made up of ​three energy utility leaders and ​three investors. After a several rounds of tough questions and deliberations, the wildcard, Aperio ​​​Systems became the first winner of the #ESB​pitchoff.

Module 3 - The Final, Singapore

The Free Electrons Global Accelerator hosted its third and final module in Singapore concluding a three-part series aimed to facilitate deal-making between twelve international energy startups and eight utilities.

The six month program resulted in 17 signed commercial agreements totaling $1.6 million and BeOn Energy was elected as the world's most innovative energy startup and awarded the Free Electrons grand prize of $175,000. After a highly successful first iteration of Free Electrons, its utility members have committed to continue to co-create the future of energy with Free Electrons 2.0 in 2018.

For more information on the programme visit www.freelectrons.co