S3E Start showcases the innovative deep tech projects from Southern Europe in a magnificent Open Day in Lisbon
On June 18th, the S3E team celebrated a hybrid Open Day in Lisbon to showcase the , the program that provides expert support to research teams and technology transfer officers in Southern Europe.
Watch the summary video!
https://youtu.be/AvonR5QPkxA
The S3E Start Open Day took place at the iconic BBVA Tivoli Theatre with approximately 60 people attending in person. The full 3-hour event was also livestreamed, reaching over 230 participants from across the European deep tech ecosystem who registered to join remotely. The audience included member companies from HiSeedTech (the S3E team who facilitated the event), international investors, business angels, innovation hubs, higher education representatives, corporates, researchers and deep tech enthusiasts.
The event kicked-off with a warm welcome from Mario Freire, President of the Board of HiSeedTech, which is the coordinator of the S3E – Southern European Entrepreneurship Engine project. Freire's introduction was followed by Daniel Gassman, Head of Sector Ecosystems and Prizes at the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), who joined online to introduce the context where S3E stands, highlighting the main objectives of the New European Agenda and how the S3E project is working towards creating long-lasting impact by supporting deep tech research, innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
Pedro Vilarinho, technical coordinator of the S3E initiative, took the stage to provide an overview of the S3E Start program, reflecting on its goals, milestones, and the remarkable progress made during the second cohort of research teams who joined the program in January. In the 2024 edition, S3E Start has supported 14 research teams in total, involving more than 60 researchers and 10 technology transfer officers from 12 different countries. The program also counted on the support of 30 mentors pooled from our community of S3E Experts.
The whole session, hosted by Roger Debo, consisted on 14 pitches from the finalist research teams, alternating onsite and online presentations, where the researchers explained the purpose and progress of their inspiring and significant work. Debo also delivered an inspirational talk on deep tech entrepreneurship.
The S3E Start Open Day showcased the remarkable potential of innovation in deep tech in Southern Europe, marking the culmination of 20 weeks of diligent effort by the 14 research teams participating in the S3E Start program. A huge congratulations to everyone involved for making this such a successful event!
The full recording of the S3E Start Open Day is now available to watch here.
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S3E Charge showcases the most innovative deep tech startups from Southern Europe in celebratory open day
On 24 April, the South3E consortium celebrated the end of this year's edition of the S3E Charge program, in a virtual open day that gathered the startups of the 2024 cohort to pitch in front of venture capitalists, business angels and other key stakeholders from across the European innovation ecosystem.
The event, which attracted 80+ people to register, marked the completion of the 18-week acceleration program that started earlier in January, coordinated and led by Christina Deligianni and Spyros Kouvelis from the Institute of Sustainable Development at EPLO.
Throughout their time with S3E Charge, the 17 selected startups and their teams received dedicated mentoring and support, as well as training through a series of webinars delivered by experts in innovation and entrepreneurship — a fully packed program centred around a key mission: to gear them up with all the necessary tools to successfully grow their businesses by expanding their reach and tapping into new markets and opportunities.
After 3 intense months, their journey culminated with the celebration of the S3E Charge Open Day, where they put all the skills and knowledge gained during the program to pitch their deep tech products and services, with the goal of introducing their solutions to European audiences and accessing funding opportunities.
"I'm very proud of all the participating teams. We've had the honour of working with very mature startups in this edition of S3E Charge, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they all progress and go from strength to strength now that they've officially graduated from the program. A big congratulations to all of them!" — Christina Deligianni
Besides the pitches delivered by 14 of the Charge startups (3 of them unfortunately couldn't attend due to unforeseen circumstances), the open day also counted with the support of Gerald Cultot from the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), and two of the top leading voices in the European innovation ecosystem: Sonia Marzo Arnaez from Microsoft, and international Venture Capitalist & Entrepreneur Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou.
The South3E team would like to express their gratitude to everyone involved in this year's edition of S3E Charge, including our community of mentors for the invaluable support and, of course, the participating startups for their commitment to the program and their drive to make a positive change in the world through their innovations.
"For the second year in a row, it's been a privilege to host an open day to celebrate a group of startups that are doing impressive work on promoting sustainability through their solutions. The goal of EPLO is to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals around the world in every way, and that's also our mission when working with the startups in this program, to empower them to 'do well by doing good'; to help them champion economic, environmental and societal growth." — Spyros Kouvelis
Full list of startups of S3E Charge 2024: Baukunst, Arquitectura y Patrimonio Virtual, BEDEV, Bomensoft, CRIAM, Archimed IoT, Ecobubble, ELNAV.AI, EntoProtein, eXRciser, Innervoices, Intellectra Technologies, ivoluntry, MOVEN, Nanomik Biotechnology, Orbiba Robotics, QX and Rosey's Mark.
Did you miss the open day? You can now recap on the full event via our YouTube channel! If you don't fancy watching the whole recording in one go, make sure to check the time stamps to navigate directly to the startup pitches.
https://youtu.be/bjvjgJ4dX_g?feature=shared
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S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: Ecobubble
Ecobubble is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Nicola Nescatelli, founder and project manager at Ecobubble, to learn more about how this Italian startup is optimising resource management in agriculture through Plantiverse, their latest greentech solution powered by plants to promote planet-friendlier ways of using natural resources.
https://youtu.be/lOXb_PdAcRE
Hi Nicola! Tell us about Ecobubble, the mission behind the business and the technology you’ve developed.
Ecobubble is a green tech startup based in Rome, and it was founded in 2019. Through Plantiverse, our most recent initiative, our mission is to optimise resource management in the agriculture sector by enabling plants to directly communicate their needs to automation systems embedded in agricultural and farming practices. For this, we've developed technologies that use multispectral analysis, advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence to achieve more efficient and sustainable agriculture.
How would you describe your entrepreneurship journey so far?
Our journey has been primarily driven by passion, which has supported us to manage our mistakes and challenges more easily. We have also focused on creating and maintaining a collaborative and positive environment across our team, while being very objective-oriented.
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We chose the S3E Charge accelerator to get the opportunity to grow and scale our technology within a dynamic and supported ecosystem, and we are particularly interested in fundraising support.
What are the key ambitions for Ecobubble? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
Our objective is to grow our business in Europe, starting with high revenue crop production, like vineyards, vertical farming, hydroponics and agrivoltaic systems.
After that, we would like to reach more extensive scale application through the development of our virtualisation component; this approach allows us to support a wide range of agricultural environments, from small to large scale, and significantly contribute to the fight against the climate change and promoting greater sustainability in the use of natural resources.
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S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: Intellectra
Intellectra is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Michalis Kyriacou, Co-founder and CEO of Intellectra, to learn more about how this startup from Cyprus is using machine learning and other emerging technologies to protect the global cyber security landscape, and hear why they’ve decided to join our accelerator program.
https://youtu.be/XyvazfsVSyM?feature=shared
Hi Michalis! Tell us about Intellectra, the mission behind the business and the technology you’ve developed.
Intellectra was founded in August 2023, on the sunny island of Cyprus, with the mission to redefine the wireless cyber security landscape. We are doing this by developing solutions for safeguarding modern, critical infrastructure and IoT infrastructure from emerging threats, utilising technologies like machine learning and homomorphic encryption.
How would you describe your entrepreneurship journey so far?
Intense but very rewarding. I'm doing something that I enjoy and it fulfils me, it completes me professionally as an engineer, but also as a personally because I can see that what I'm doing has a positive impact.
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We have joined the S3E accelerator to validate our business idea and also to benefit from the opportunities this program can offer, like learning opportunities, ideas exchange, and of course the networking.
What are the key ambitions for Intellectra? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
In five years, we want to to see Intellectra growing and leading the way in making wireless networks and devices safer. We want to establish new standards which can help rebuild the trust within society and contribute to secure our wireless interconnected world.
Drawing from your own experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who’d like to launch their own startup?
Just go for it! It's tough, it's not an easy task, but it's totally worth it. And never let any opportunity slip away!
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S3E Charge Open Call 2: everything you need to know!
Now that the South3E consortium has officially announced , you may be wondering which of the 3 available tracks is the right one for you. We spoke with Christina Deligianni, Policy and Programmes Director at Institute for Sustainable Development at EPLO and leader of S3E Charge, to share all the key insights about this accelerator program created to support Southern European startups at their growth stage.
https://youtu.be/bTghkt-nhHU
Hi Christina! Tell us, what is the ethos behind S3E?
Our mission is to foster innovation and an entrepreneurship mindset in the South of Europe.
We want to do this by accelerating and incubating research teams and startups, and brokering deals and agreements between big corporations and SMEs. We focus on technologies that are grounded on either scientific discovery or meaningful innovation, so we can contribute towards deploying all those deep tech solutions that come from Southern European countries.
Social impact and economic growth are also two very important factors for us — all the nurturing we do within the European innovation ecosystem aims to build a more sustainable future. Therefore, all the projects, all the startups that are part of the S3E Program also have to be aligned with at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations.
What does the S3E Charge track offer to startups?
This is an acceleration program, so we’re looking for startups that have a product or a solution based on deep tech research and sustainability, and that wish to be accelerated.
The S3E Charge track is 14-weeks long, which requires a big commitment from the participants; in return, each startup is paired up with their own mentor - someone chosen from a pool of experts in their sector - and they get to attend our series of tailor-made webinars where they learn about a variety of topics: from marketing and sales, all the way to sustainable business models and strategies.
We also bring the selected statups closer to dilutive and non-dilutive funding opportunities, as well as networking with industry leaders and other innovators and entrepreneurs.
The participating startups will work on two deliverables: a business-ready plan and a professional pitch deck, which they will get to use when they pitch in front of potential investors at the celebratory open day that marks the end of the program.
How can startups apply to join the S3E Charge Program?
The first step would be to read all the information about the Program available on the Apply Now section of the S3E website. Those interested in applying need to and make sure to read them carefully before starting filling up their application on the F6S online platform.
Once we receive all applications, our panel of experts will review them; the selected startups will be publicly announced on 12 January and the program will officially start on 18 January.
If you are a startup in the growth stage and are looking for new opportunities to learn how to pitch your business to investors and access networking opportunities, I strongly encourage you apply for the S3E Charge Program. Remember, the application deadline is 15 December 2023. We look forward to, hopefully, welcoming you into the S3E Charge cohort of 2024!
Do you have any questions you’d like to ask Christina and the S3E team directly? Come along to one of our Info Webinars! Check all the upcoming sessions and register via Eventbrite.
We look forward to creating long-lasting collaborations!
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The S3E Open Call #2 has officially launched!
The wait is finally over! The S3E – Southern European Entrepreneurship Engine consortium is excited to announce the official launch of the second Open Call for the three tracks of the : Start, Charge & Reverse.
S3E is the ultimate program of support for entrepreneurs in Southern Europe developing Deep Tech solutions with social and sustainable impact at their core. Each track is dedicated to three main groups operating within the innovation ecosystem: researchers and TTOs working on a project as a team, startups at their growth stage, and corporates interested in joining forces with scaleups/SMEs.
The S3E Charge program has been an invaluable experience. The theoretical sessions and mentorship have greatly supported our growth and have improved the key strategies to effectively communicate our value proposition. We highly recommend this program to other entrepreneurs, as it provides the necessary tools and connections for success in the Deep Tech industry.
Naeria Navarro Navarro CTO, Fresh Water Nature SL - Charge Startup
What's the difference between the 3 tracks?
- S3E Start: helps research teams and tech transfer officers to explore the commercial viability of their deep tech projects. Through an 18-week online training & mentorship program, the selected research teams will learn first-hand about the processes required to develop a business case for science-based products or services.
- S3E Charge: supports deep tech startups in their growing phase that want to improve their business model and learn how to access dilutive and non-dilutive funding. Over 14 weeks, the selected startups will receive tailored mentorship to guide them through the validation process of their product or service, and the creation of an investment-ready business plan.
- S3E Reverse: connects corporate challenges with solutions developed by scaleups and SMEs thanks to our Brokerage Program, based on a successful open innovation methodology. To access the first phase of this track, large companies and public organisations have to submit a deep tech challenge.
You can find all the relevant information about each track on the section on our website.
How to apply
Those interested in joining the S3E Program need to follow these steps:
- Read all information about the S3E Program to decide which track best suits you
- Once you know which track you want to apply to, download the relevant track Guidelines for Applicants and the Open Call Text via Zenodo: +
- After carefully reading the mandatory documents, you can now complete your application via the F6S online platform: S3E Charge application for Startups + S3E Start application for Researchers + S3E Start application for Tech Transfer Offices
The S3E Open Call #2 welcomes applications from the following countries:
- South European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
- Associated countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey.
The S3E Start program has a comprehensive curriculum that provided us with the necessary information on deep-tech commercialization. With the TEC sessions, webinars and mentor meetings, we had the chance to learn from experts. The S3E team has been very supportive and answered all the questions we had. We strongly recommend this program.
Elif Begum Elcioglu NANO INK - Start Researcher
Key dates to keep in mind
- 18 September 2023 (12pm CET): The S3E Open call officially launches for the 3 tracks: S3E Start, S3E Charge and S3E Reverse
- 15 December 2023 (5pm CET): Deadline for applying to S3E Charge (startups) and S3E Reverse (large organisations acting as ‘Challengers’)
- 12 January 2024 (5pm CET): Deadline for applying to S3E Start (research teams & tech transfer officers)
Join our upcoming S3E Info Webinars!
To help this year's applicants prepare for their submissions, the teams behind S3E Start & S3E Charge will be hosting a series of Q&A Webinars. These sessions provide an open space to everyone interested in applying to ask any questions they may have about the S3E Program — we highly encourage future participants to come along!
Check the available dates for S3E Start and S3E Charge and book your preferred session via Eventbrite. The earlier you join one of our Info Webinars, the more time you and your team will have to prepare before submitting your application.
Got any questions?
Check the FAQs section on our website, where you fill find an extensive list of answers regarding the S3E Program. If you would like to speak directly to someone from the S3E team, you can email us at info@south3e.eu
We look forward to creating long-lasting collaborations!
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Water2kW: the Spanish startup producing green hydrogen with eco-friendly technology
Water2kW is one of the supported startups in the first S3E Charge Accelerator Programme.
The technology developed by Water2kW enables the production and use of green hydrogen wherever it is installed. It requires only one source of energy, preferably from renewable sources, enabling the process to be 100% sustainable, using environmental humidity as sustainable water supply.
Their Humidity® technology provides another differential fact: the total use of the process by-products. Advanced by-product recovery systems are capable of 1) Recycling O2 to produce hydrogen peroxide or electricity 2) Recovering waste heat or 3) Taking advantage of the excess produced water. All this, without the need to add chemicals to the process and without generating emissions, rejections or toxic discharges, as is the case of current reverse osmosis and grey hydrogen installations. This new modular, circular and no-waste approach can significatively contribute to climate change objectives.
Learn more about Water2kW by watching the pitch done by their R&D Manager, Luisa Fraga, during the Charge Open Day on 6th July 2023.
https://youtu.be/E5RuQf2V3eE
Would you like to get in touch with them? Let us know! Email us at info@south3e.eu
Looking forward to exploring synergies and creating a long-lasting collaboration.
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ThetaBiomarkers: the Greek startup helping people decrypt their metabolism
ThetaBiomarkers is one of the supported startups in the first S3E Charge Accelerator Programme.
ThetaBiomarkers have created an innovative and technologically advanced clinical laboratory for the provision of quality metabolomics-based services for health and wellness, ensuring that final users get accurate treatment decisions. They are a deep-tech company that offers simultaneous analysis for a plethora of biomarkers and drugs, using state-of-the-art instrumentation, bespoke algorithms and sophisticated software. They offer evidence-based solutions, tailored to the needs of our customers, in order to provide a personalized metabolism tracker and personalized reports and wellness/health advice.
Also, they have developed convenient, safe and alternative to in-clinic visits testing options for different body fluids. They launched a new, innovative technology product for quick and easy sampling outside the clinical laboratory, avoiding costly cold chain transfers. The ability to sample and ship small volumes of liquid biosamples on a simple card enables uninterrupted monitoring of vulnerable or remote-located patients, especially in the post COVID-19 pandemic era.
They are at the spearhead of technology development generating new bioanalytical approaches, promoting application to numerous sectors and activities. Their scalable and customisable portfolio delivers unique added-value to researchers and healthcare providers to in-market wellbeing management.
Learn more about ThetaBiomarkers by watching the pitch done by their CEO, Olga Begou, during the Charge Open Day on 6th July 2023.
https://youtu.be/U0NGb-q-o5M
Would you like to get in touch with them? Let us know! Email us at info@south3e.eu
Looking forward to exploring synergies and creating a long-lasting collaboration.
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RespiBit: the startup providing personalised, predictive and protective solutions for healthy living with respiratory diseases
RespiBit is one of the supported startups in the first S3E Charge Accelerator Programme.
Problem: Asthma management is currently insufficient and needs to be improved as many of the current hospitalizations and deaths due to asthma are avoidable. Notably, asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization for children under the age of 18 today. Despite the significant costs and seriousness of the asthma problem, no solutions exist to effectively manage the condition or to predict asthma attacks.
Solution: The AsthmaFit system is the first predictive and personalized product to monitor and manage asthma in a deep and effective manner. It's a completely unique approach to monitor the condition of asthma patients, their exposure and symptom histories, and predicting asthma attacks by providing actionable, preventative and protective metrics.
Product/Services: The AsthmaFit product consists of a wearable device, an app and cloud software. AsthmaFit services address the specific needs of people with asthma of different severity (i.e., mild, moderate, and severe) and provide personalised solutions for monitoring asthma and minimising asthma attacks. AsthmaFit provides a unique and powerful solution by means of broad monitoring of exposure to the 3P’s (pollen, particulates and pollutants) that influence asthma in different ways, by monitoring individual symptoms, and by advanced algorithms that analyse the exposure entities, determine the sensitivity profile and then predict next day probable outcomes.
Value Proposition: AsthmaFit delivers to the user: a comprehensive exposure history in terms of pollen, particulates and pollutants, asthma status and sensitivity profile, and exposure warnings based on long-term exposure to specific irritants and short-term exposure to specific triggers. It is estimated that AsthmaFit will be able to predict 60%, or more, of severe asthma attacks reducing overall costs of asthma for people with severe asthma.
Learn more about RespiBit by watching the pitch done by their Founder and CTO, Aleck Alexopoulos, during the Charge Open Day on 6th July 2023.
https://youtu.be/OmnPhhTwM7E
Would you like to get in touch with them? Let us know! Email us at info@south3e.eu
Looking forward to exploring synergies and creating a long-lasting collaboration.
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Psychomeasure: the medtech startup decoding mental health
Psychomeasure is one of the supported startups in the first S3E Charge Accelerator Programme.
What? Psychomeasure© is a clinical tool based on natural language processing (NLP) to support physicians in their diagnosis and monitoring of schizophrenia patients, adding quantitative resources to the qualitative analysis of patients. Psychomeasure© is based on scientific research that has been produced from over one decade of ongoing interdisciplinary investigation and has already been submitted to clinical trials monitored by mental health experts.
Why? The traditional psychiatric diagnosis process is lengthy, subjective, and prone to errors. By using NLP technology, Psychomeasure© can significantly decrease the time of evaluation and diagnosis, adding precision and accuracy. Traditional diagnostic methods for schizophrenia rely on psychiatric evaluation, behavioural examination and medical history assessment. According to scientific literature, misdiagnosis of schizophrenia ranged between 39.16% and 56.7%. In contrast, their NLP solution has been found to have an accuracy of 90%.
How? Psychomeasure© provides a Software as a Service (SAAS) subscription-based product that provides cognitive markers based on speech that can be used in a similar way as a hemogram. These results are then used by psychiatrists to support their qualitative assessment of patients, enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis and patient monitoring.
The science behind Psychomeasure's algorithm was tested, validated, published, and awarded by some of the world's most renowned research centres, such as the Columbia University Medical School, the University of Edinburgh and King’s College in London. They currently have clinical trials taking place at hospitals and research centres in Europe and in Brazil using their Beta app. The company owns its intellectual property (IP) and has a formal agreement with the universities where it was initially developed.
Learn more about Psychomeasure by watching the pitch done by their CEO, Eduardo Barros, during the Charge Open Day on 6th July 2023.
https://youtu.be/t8L8pDqGa98
Would you like to get in touch with them? Let us know! Email us at info@south3e.eu