Energy Innovation Day – Building momentum for sustainable solutions 

On the 14th of March, students from all disciplines were invited to Gruva to present their innovative ideas for accelerating the transition towards more sustainable energy solutions across societal areas. 

By Vilde Falck Husum

As part of NTNU’s Energy Transition Week, Energy Innovation Day took place amid conferences, workshops, and networking events, with the overall perspective focused on the future of energy and the transition into a net-zero society. Three contestants had the opportunity to win a prize dealt from a pool of 25.000 NOK for their innovative ideas. 

The panel giving feedback

Although sustainability constituted the backdrop for the event, there was also a broader focus on networking and developing good ideas. This showcases the importance of the social activities and entrepreneurial work that goes into pitching a business idea. Therefore, leading up to the event, the contestants could sign up for and participate in a training course over three weeks in February. The training sessions were based around generating ideas, evaluating feasibility and lessons on how to present a good pitch. 

The day started at 08:30 AM with mingling and some final touches to the pitches. After lunch, the teams prepared to bring their ideas to the stage. Given a five-minute timeframe, each team presented their sustainable solutions to a panel. The ideas ranged from bettering everyday logistics to improving industries such as restaurants, shipping, and utilizing existing infrastructure to optimize the use of already constructed areas. The diversity of ideas truly displayed the creativeness of the students participating, but also a range of untapped solutions with a future potential for bettering and improving society through sustainable energy. After pitching, each team was given feedback on their ideas as well as questions about scalability, business strategy, and feasibility. The panel consisted of three representatives from the entrepreneurial community at NTNU: Simon Sætre Borchgrevink from ES, Sonia Ahmadi, research fellow at the department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, and Jans Nygaard also from ES. 

It was revealed during feedback on a pitch from an eager student that he was unaware of the contest-part of Energy Innovation Day. However, he signed up, passionately pitching his idea with the hope of someone else taking it further and therefore leaving an idea up for grabs. After a quick break for the panel to discuss, the winners of Energy Innovation Day were announced. The panel based their decision upon several criterion, where thorough work in market research, commitment as well as a clear problem definition and solution was evaluated. 

A prize of 25. 000 NOK was shared amongst the top three pitches. At third place was Scoped, Enabling energy efficiency and sustainability through transition risk analysis for buildings. Second place went to an individual pitch on how to utilize the restaurant-industry for a more sustainable operation. Lastly, first place went to CPU, representing BI Business School. They presented their idea based on exploring possibilities for generating more sustainable energy through the shipping industry and marinas. The winning team consisted of three guys completing their first year in business development and entrepreneurship.

When asked why they signed up for Energy Innovation Day, the team behind CPU listed interest and gaining experience as the main motivation behind their participation. One of the members learnt about the event through his roommate, who designed the graphic material for Energy Innovation Day. Later he also heard about it through the entrepreneurial ecosystem at BI and reached out to two of his fellow students. They also saw this event as a great possibility to get more involved in the entrepreneurial activities at NTNU. 

CPU’s idea was generated from participating at the event, and originally started as something else. However, after calling around and talking to people from the shipping industry, academics, and experts, they tweaked their idea to fit the needs and possibilities within the industry. When asked about their experience from taking part in Energy Innovation Day they state that the learning outcome has been important:

“We see this as a great experience, especially as a first-time thing within a comfortable and relaxed environment. We have definitely learned a lot from this. It is a lot of work and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. You learn to challenge yourself on an entirely new level.” – Alfred, CPU 

From generating a new idea, checking market potential to networking, pitching, and getting feedback, their main goal was to gain experience and generally just get better. When asked about how they would like to use the prize, they hope to use the money as a means to better themselves as future entrepreneurs. Uncertain of whether they will go further with this particular idea as for now, they are open to explore the potential in the future. Yet, the range of ideas presented at Energy Innovation Day shows a future of entrepreneurs eager to contribute to a sustainable transition. When asked about entrepreneurs most important contribution to a sustainable future, Simon, one of the panel representatives stated:  

“Supporting their words with actions. Society talks about transitioning to a more sustainable future, but few try to create value through it. That deserves a great deal of respect.” – Simon, Higher Executive Officer at Engage

This is definitely a statement proven to be true by the people presenting their ideas at Energy Innovation Day, some of which will hopefully guide us toward a more sustainable future.