Entrepreneurs start US crash course

Top European entrepreneurs have landed in the United States to begin a course on cleantech entrepreneurship in California.

The two-week trip also sees the 13 innovative companies from the UK, the Netherlands and France spend time in Boston, Massachusetts. The start-ups are responsible for innovations ranging from smart charging technologies for electric vehicles to sensors that optimise the logistics of waste collection and environmental management software for businesses and the construction industry.

Speaking ahead of the trip, Frans Nauta, deputy director of entrepreneurship at Climate-KIC, said: “Ultimately we want to see a global community of cleantech entrepreneurs and innovators. But real communities are built on trust, and trust can only be established with real world face-to-face interaction. To this end our Start-up Tour programme has a vital role to play in facilitating these connections – helping to establish creative partnerships between dynamic companies across borders and regions.”

The start-ups will have the opportunity to debate with some of the world’s leading venture capital firms and meet potential partners and customers. The Dutch Consulate General will host a pitch competition and panel discussion in San Francisco on 9 September. The event, entitled ‘2nd Annual Future of Cleantech Entrepreneurship’, will feature a discussion on the future of cleantech entrepreneurship on both sides of the Atlantic and is a collaboration between Climate-KIC and the Netherlands Office for Science & Technology.

The tour will also encompass visits to leading universities like Berkeley, Harvard and MIT and entrepreneurship hotspots like solar incubator SunCube in Oakland, California, and the Cambridge Innovation Center and Greentown Labs in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The tour takes place until 17 September.