Bord na Móna has revealed the eight new companies who have been selected to take part in the second year of Accelerate Green. The participating companies are NanobOx, Hibra Design, HaPPE Earth, Hub360, Superfy, Trinity Green Energy, EC Charging and CW Applied Technology. Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green programme is Ireland’s leading sustainability programme designed to scale-up companies who are developing products and services based on green innovation in response to climate action and sustainability challenges. The current cohort of businesses employ over 70 people with turnover of more than €5million.
Bord na Móna has also committed to a further €5million investment in the Accelerate Green Programme over the next three years which will support more than 50 companies to scale up. A significant 15% of this will be invested in targeting new companies to apply to Accelerate Green with a particular emphasis on identifying Midlands based companies.
The companies participating in the Accelerate Green programme include NanobOx, a novel water treatment technology and winner of this year’s Big Ideas competition for tech start-ups run by Enterprise Ireland. They are developing a novel water treatment technology providing a highly energy-efficient method of oxygenating water as well as a chemical-free cleaning and sanitisation process using nanobubbles.
Hibra Design is an automotive design engineering company. They reengineer off-highway, speciality vehicles by removing the diesel powertrain and developing bespoke sustainable alternative systems such Battery Electric or Hydrogen Fuel Cell powertrains. This helps operators to reduce operational costs and increase productivity while providing healthier working environments.
HaPPE Earth have designed an innovative, fully compostable, medical grade apron using bioplastics as sustainable alternative for healthcare providers. The single use apron disappears in approximately eight weeks and was a winner in the 2022 Health Innovation Hub Ireland awards. Currently only 10% of global healthcare waste is recycled. If the Irish health service removed single use plastic aprons, it would mean a reduction in plastic waste of 500 tons of plastic each year.
Other companies include:
- Hub360, a software platform that optimises logistics (incl. reducing carbon emissions) and deliveries for companies that use their own delivery fleet or third-party hauliers to deliver their goods. HUB360 is generating monthly recurring revenues, and revenue by delivering enhanced functionality and more modules over time into the same clients.
- Superfy who deliver sustainable smart resource management solutions for companies for sustainability, waste, recycling, operations, workforce and fleet management.
- Trinity Green Energy, who specialise in the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- EC Charging who design, develop, build, install and maintain smart EV charging systems.
- CW Applied Technology, a dynamic electronic business based in Shannon, Ireland.
Speaking at the launch, Tom Donnellan, CEO of Bord na Móna said. “At Bord na Mona we understand the role mentorship and partnership will play in achieving the vision of a climate neutral Ireland by 2050. Of the 17 companies who have already come through Accelerate Green, we have established a working partnership with six companies and facilitated ten to scale up, secure more funding, diversify their business and provide more climate focussed roles in the Midlands.
This new cohort of companies just beginning the programme represent the critical pipeline of potential new enterprises operating in the sustainability space or looking to transition to become a climate solutions company, a journey we have been on ourselves since 2018. We are committed to sharing our knowledge with these enterprises as they progress through the Accelerate Green programme, collaborating to ensure the organisations can scale up and become leaders in their own right with the support of Bord na Móna.”
Keynote speaker at the launch, Julie Sinnamon, Member of the Climate Change Advisory Council said, “I have been really inspired and impressed by the calibre of companies participating in this year’s Accelerate Green Programme. Great entrepreneurial and innovative businesses need the support of programmes such as Accelerate Green to make sure that they can scale up and thrive. It is their success that will drive Ireland forward to achieve the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy.”
Accelerate Green will be located at Bord na Móna’s existing office complex in Boora, Co Offaly. It has been developed in in conjunction with Irish innovation advisory firm Resolve Partners and ERINN Innovation.
Speaking at the launch, Alan Costello from Resolve Partners said; “Collectively, the eight companies on the programme employ 70 people and have raised funding of over €5 million to-date. Graduation from Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green will open doors for further growth as it has for their predecessors. We have exciting innovations with this round of participants and this accelerator will help them deliver measurable impact and support sustainable economic development.”
More than 90 per cent of Bord na Móna investment in the last financial year was in areas the EU would class as “environmentally sustainable”, including renewable energy, land use change and the circular economy. Accelerate Green is central to the company’s commitment to the European Green Deal.
This work is supported with partial funding through the Bord na Mona led European Commission funded LIFE Integrated Project ‘Peatlands and People’ an initiative that aims to support the realisation of a carbon-neutral, climate resistant and environmentally sustainable country.
Find out more about and companies on the past programmes here.