The first international DTEK Innovation Day took place in London on Wednesday, November 24. Six startups presented their innovative solutions for implementation in the Ukrainian energy sector. This event was the first pitching of startups within DTEK's cooperation with London-based VC firm Blue Lake that works with early-stage startups and looks for innovative solutions for large businesses.
The event was opened by DTEK Chief Innovation Officer Emanuele Volpe, Ukraine's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom Vadym Prystaiko, MP and Chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine Mark Pritchard, and Founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates Russ Shaw. The event was moderated by David Gilgur, Partner at Blue Lake.
“As Ukrainian representative here, I constantly hear about ‘brain drain’ from Ukraine. Now, with your help, I hope we will finally be able to ‘steal’ bright minds from the UK and bring them back to Ukraine. That is why DTEK team is here, and it works for the good of all of us: for Ukraine, for the UK and the rest of the globe,” Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko said in his welcoming speech.
According to Russ Shaw, Founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates that promote tech communities and ecosystems, cooperation with DTEK and Ukraine is very important for the UK. “This is how we create collaborations and drive innovation. It is with the help of such projects that the UK is moving towards becoming the third technology country in the world after the United States and China,” said Russ Shaw.
Within the first international DTEK Innovation Day, six startups presented their innovative solutions: Digitalnauts, Spottitt, Extend Robotics, Naked Energy, innoSEP and OrxaGrid. The guests of the event also had the opportunity to visit the interactive area and experience how Teslasuit, a smart suit with the function of transmitting tactile sensations in virtual and augmented reality, works. Teslasuit is one of the first startups with which DTEK began cooperation three years ago within the DTEK's innovative activities.
The winner in “Best Innovative Solution” category was the Digitalnauts team, a startup that creates platforms for managing VR content and develops industrial VR trainings. The winner in "Best Business Opportunity" category was innoSEP team with a no-code platform for managing data and creating AI programs. Spottitt startup team, which creates satellite AI-analytics for power and gas network operators, was voted by the event’s guest and got the title “People’s Choice”.
DTEK plans to launch pilot projects using the innovative solutions of the winning teams in the company's businesses.
“Within our collaboration with Blue Lake, which started this summer, 400 startups applied to participate in our scouting program, 200 were selected, 70 innovative solutions were worked out with the business and, as a result, we have 6 finalists, who today present their innovative products and solutions at the first international DTEK Innovation Day in London. I am sure that today's event is just the beginning of our active work on establishing sustainable partnerships between the Ukrainian and the UK innovative ecosystems,” said Emanuele Volpe, DTEK Chief Innovation Officer.
He also noted that DTEK will not only implement promising innovative solutions in the Ukrainian market, but also serve as a ‘window’ for Ukrainian startups to the most developed international innovative ecosystem in Europe.
