Start-Up Area

• To offer new entrepreneurial ventures broad visibility, with the opportunity to create exchanges and share ideas: the perfect environment where tradition and innovation meet.

• To create opportunities for meetings between the companies attending the event and the start-ups that, by their nature, can foster product and/or service innovation.

• To encourage the identification of the Italian innovation system as a primary partner in product development for the renewable energy and energy transition sector at national and international level.

• To give a voice to the best Italian innovators by collecting the testimonials of those who innovate and promoting the major themes of the energy transition in terms of development, culture and skills.

The initiative is aimed at innovative start-ups and SMEs registered in the special section of the Companies Register pursuant to Law No. 221 of 18 December 2012, which meet the following requirements:

Development of technologies and solutions in line with the themes of the SSEC – Storage & Solar Expo Conference event, and able to demonstrate products and services with a highly innovative character.

Being active in the B2B market and having a website and/or promotional materials in English.

The selected innovative start-ups and SMEs may participate upon payment of a secretarial fee of €600 + VAT.

SSEC offers a simple and accessible exhibition format for connecting with companies, operators, investors and stakeholders interested in new solutions for solar, storage, energy efficiency and energy digitalization. The services included in the registration fee are:

• All-Inclusive Start-Up Package: complete exhibition space, with desk, stool and logo graphics
• Access to the event as official exhibitors
• Registration in the event’s digital catalogue
• 1 complimentary external parking pass
• 2 stand staff passes
• Media coverage: promotional services at national and international level
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Please note: in addition to the registration fee, all out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel, accommodation and transport, remain the responsibility of the participants.

Start-ups that meet the requirements indicated in the previous sections may submit their application by completing and sending the dedicated ONLINE FORM, providing consent for the processing of the data contained in the application.

At the end of the application period, the organization will formally verify that the submitted projects meet the minimum requirements. Subsequently, a specially appointed evaluation committee will review all admitted applications, assigning each project a score from 1 to 10 based on the following criteria:

• business potential of the idea;
• stage of development of the product/service;
• degree of innovation and its defensibility;
• team skills;
• competitive context and positioning;
• alignment with market and customer needs, and market size;
• impact of the project on the challenges of the future.

In order to promote younger entities in an early stage of development, start-ups may be awarded an additional score of up to +1 compared with innovative SMEs. In the event of a tie in the overall score, priority will be given to start-ups.

At the end of the evaluation phase, all applicants will receive an official communication from Italian Exhibition Group, sent to the email address provided during the application process, containing the result—positive or negative—of the selection.

Selected applicants must confirm their participation within 2 working days of receiving the official communication, by replying via email. In the absence of a response within the established deadline, the application will be considered withdrawn.
Following confirmation, admitted applicants will receive the participation form agreement, which must be returned duly completed, signed and stamped, together with the following documentation:

• receipt of payment of the participation fee by bank transfer;
• updated company registration certificate, mandatory only for innovative SMEs;
• high-resolution logo in vector format, preferably .ai, .svg or .eps.

In the event of withdrawal by one or more selected applicants, Italian Exhibition Group, in agreement with the initiative’s partners, will proceed down the ranking list, admitting additional eligible candidates.