Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo has become a partner of Space3ac. International teams that apply for the acceleration programme will have the opportunity to receive financial support and present their solutions to PGNiG.
Startups in the Space3ac accelerator will receive financial support from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) of up to EUR 65,000, assistance in setting up business operations in Poland, mentorship support, and an opportunity to work with PGNiG and other companies. The accelerator offers several options to collaborate with industrial and corporate partners, including pilot implementations, partnership projects between large companies and startups, commercial and investment options.
‘In order to maintain continued business growth, we want to embrace innovation. For the entire energy industry, the coming years will be a time of great challenges and deployment of innovation projects that will allow us to complement traditional energy sources with green and zero-carbon fuels in the future. As we remain open to collaboration with other companies both in optimising our own processes and expanding into new business areas, I‘m glad to welcome Space3ac as our new partner,’ says Arkadiusz Sekściński, Vice President of the Management Board for Development, PGNiG SA.
In the Space3ac accelerator, PGNiG will be looking for young companies specialising in projects concerned with optimising processes with the use of artificial intelligence, hydrogen technologies, fuel cells, water purification and development of new production forecasting tools for electricity and heat, taking into account the changing technology and economic environment. The company is also interested in marketing automation, Big Data processing, employer branding, and gamification solutions. A full description of the solutions that may be submitted under the accelerator programme can be found on the website.
‘We are glad that a company that has been successfully collaborating with startups for several years and has its own support instruments for this type of projects has joined the programme as its partner. Thanks to the accelerator’s experience and fields of specialisation we can offer partners like PGNiG the opportunity to work with top startups,’ says Wojciech Drewczyński, Space3ac CEO.
PGNiG and collaboration with startups
PGNiG is actively seeking out startup projects. Through its own acceleration programme InnVento, the company is already working with the Kraków Technology Park, HugeTECH, and other partners. This year alone, the InnVento programme and partner programmes have received over 250 applications, of which 120 projects showed potential for the Group. PGNiG is running six pilot projects with selected startups.
Space3ac Accelerator
The Gdańsk accelerator, in cooperation with the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, has been supporting startups from Poland and abroad for over five years now. During the nine editions of the accelerator, over 140 companies received total financing of over PLN 27m. In the current edition of the programme, Industry Partners are looking for over 40 different innovative solutions, from IoT, satellite technologies, ground handling, and HR, to e-health solutions and 5G networks.5G. Startups, technology companies, research teams and anyone who has an idea for cooperation with Industry Partners may participate in the programme. Applications should be submitted via the accelerator’s website in Polish or English: https://polandprize.space3.ac/. The programme will open in early January, it will run for three to eight months and will end with the Demo Day.
