Acea has joined the Startup Europe Partnership (SEP) open innovation platform created in 2014 by the European Commission to support European startups during their “scaleup” development stage (innovative companies already present on the market, with defined products and business models), connecting them with major companies and with the financial world. ACEA’s participation in the SEP programme was made official today at the “SEP Scaleup Summit”, hosted in Milan on 11 and 12 March at Borsa Italiana’s Palazzo Mezzanotte.

SEP is coordinated by Mind the Bridge, together with ELITE-London Stock Exchange, Nesta, European Startup Network, Scaleup Institute and Bisite Accelerator, with a view to supporting the growth of startups and, at the same time, steering firms in their path to open innovation. The Scaleup Summit in Milan will in fact allow companies associated with the platform to engage with the most interesting scaleups on the European scene. The event will also provide an opportunity to meet international investors and monitor the trend in innovation with regard to certain key sectors of the economy, including energy, construction and smart cities.

Acea’s Chief Executive Officer Stefano Donnarumma commented: “Through participation in the Startup Europe Partnership platform, Acea confirms its increasing commitment to investment in innovation and consolidates its interest in opening up to the startup ecosystem in order to work together with the best domestic and international innovative organisations. Innovation is a cornerstone of our 2018-2022 business plan, wherein we envisaged an investment of 400 million Euro with the precise aim of developing this key industry, which now embraces all categories of business. Our objective is to ensure the evolution of our services so as to positively impact the life of the people, customers and citizens in the area where we operate and, within the Company, by developing innovative solutions to support the work of Acea's corporate functions. This led to our decision to take part in the Startup Europe Partnership platform where we will have an opportunity to engage with other corporate organisations and can support the growth of startups and scaleups that offer innovative technological solutions and business models for our sector. In 2019 we shall continue to pursue and enhance scouting even outside of Italy in order to identify new ideas and technologies and take advantage of interesting opportunities all over the world. Our involvement with Startup Europe Partnership is another major step in this direction.”