Lower Austria ClimAccelerator

A new call for startups will be announced in autumn 2024

What is the Lower Austria Accent ClimAccelerator?

Lower Austria like the rest of the world faces an enormous challenge: It must become more resilient and stay a healthy place for all people and future generations to live while reaching net-zero-emissions in just a few years.

The Lower Austria ClimAccelerator is a 3-month accelerator programme with a focus on the impact of climate change in Lower Austria and beyond as well as the commercialization of clean technologies (clean tech). It targets impact-driven start-ups that are developing solutions with special focus on transforming society and systems to become climate neutral.

The Lower Austria ClimAccelerator is operated in a joint approach of accent Inkubator GmbH supported by EIT Climate-KIC as well as the EU’s Just Transition Fund and the government of Lower Austria.

accent Inkubator GmbH is Lower Austria’s deep-tech incubator supporting highly innovative start-ups and spin-offs for almost 20 years and, as an EUBIC (EU-Business Incubator), operates incubation services on an excellence level.

EIT Climate-KIC is EU’s Climate knowledge and innovation community working to accelerate the transition towards a zero-carbon and climate-resilient society.

The Lower Austria ClimAccelerator focuses on these topics and their corresponding subtopics:

  • AgroTech/Agrofood/Biomass

    Objective:

    Fostering innovation in agriculture to address challenges and enhance sustainability

    Focus areas:

    -Precision farming technologies

    -Sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices

    -Digital solutions for farm management and crop monitoring

    -Climate-smart agriculture techniques

  • Clean Chemistry

    Objective:

    Innovations in protecting the environment

    Focus areas:

    -New materials

    -Clean chemistry for health and environment

    -Clean solutions against vermin

If you are a startup or a small business that is acting upon or that can provide solutions in any of the previous topics and you also meet the following requirements, this is your accelerator!

  • Startups/small businesses must offer a scalable solution

  • Potential high climate impact or solutions for climate adaptation

  • Your company has to be incorporated (no longer than 5 years) in Lower Austria

  • A dedicated team of minimum 2, which together hold at least 75% of equity and are committed to working full-time on their venture

  • Technology Readiness Level: min. TRL 4[1] at the start of the programme


[1] https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/annexes/h2020-wp1415-annex-g-trl_en.pdf

What we offer

Our 3-month programme offers immediate and tailored impact related consulting on business development with focus on climate and  technical support. Provided successful completion of the programme, start-ups can seek financial support and access to a range of further EIT Climate-KIC services in subsequent stages.

The in-kind services include

  • Preliminary assessment of the technology’s / product’s / service’s impact on the climate

  • Business Assessment and Coaching

  • Sessions with international experts from business and sustainability

  • Webinars and workshops to understand the concept of ESG, EU Green Deal, EU Taxonomy, Sustainability Reporting, Sustainability Communication (Green Claims Directive), supply chain legislation and work towards sustainability in your start-up/company

  • Peer-to-peer learning

  • Access to the EIT Climate-KIC alumni community

  • Marketing and Communication

  • Access to the EIT Climate-KIC ecosystem to boost your start-up.*

  • Access to EIT Climate-KIC sustainability tool: Climate SAFE.*

These services constitute state aid in an amount of 2.000 Euros and are thus subject to the European Union de-minimis rule.

* Note: these services will be covered only if you have signed the Climate SAFE agreement which is an offer from EIT Climate-KIC and can be applied for following the successful completion of the ClimAccelerator.

Criteria & Jury

The criteria in order to be selected and join this program is indicated in the table below. The jury consists of members of accent as well as the EIT and has also external experts on board.

PDF Criteria for Application

Application

How do I apply?

The application form is available via the following Google Form. Within this application form you will be requested to complete several fields regarding your startup and submit a pitch deck.

Apply now

Tentative timeline

  • Call start: January 5th , 2024

  • Q&A webinar to discuss questions: January 22th, 2024

  • Application deadline: February 16th , 2024

  • Online pitches from shortlisted teams: end of February 2024

  • Announcement of selected teams: March 1st, 2024

  • Kick-off of the ClimAccelerator: March 4th, 2024

  • Demo Day: June 2024

The final agenda will be sent to the selected startups and small companies.

Important note: Most of the activities will be online or hybrid. However, we reserve the right to carry out the activities in person.

Number of selected Start-ups

A maximum of 20 start-ups and small companies will be selected for the programme.

Climate-SAFE Tool

The Climate-SAFE has been designed as a founder-friendly, and efficient means for Climate-KIC to invest in Europe’s most exciting Climate-tech companies. The Climate-SAFE is a simple agreement for future equity - a convertible investment.

The key terms of the Climate-SAFE are:

- €50,000 value

- 24 month longstop

- No valuation cap - we don’t want to limit the valuation of any future funding rounds!

- 20% discount rate

- No most-favoured nation clause

 

The Climate-SAFE is structured as a cash + services investment and grants access to the following package of support:

- Carbon Impact Forecasting, Modelling and Validation

- Access to ClimateHIVE community

- Fundraising support & connections to Climate-KIC investor network

- Commercialisation Opportunities

- EU Policy & Affairs support

- A dedicated portfolio manager

 

This tool is optional. No mandatory request to join this agreement needed for this call. If you have any questions about this please contact the Climate-KIC Investment team on investments@climate-kic.org

Any questions?

I have a question that is not answered here. Whom can I ask?

No problem, just send an email to: clim.accelerator@accent.at