The Renaissance marked a sea-change for Italy, and ultimately, Europe. In re-discovering learnings of the past, a new chapter of prosperity began, driven by an explosion of innovation and experimentation in the arts and sciences. In many ways, the European economy and old European industries are today looking for their own rebirth, through re-discovering a focus on efficiency and sustainability, and through identifying new businesses, products and services, as part of a search for corporate re-invention. In the Forum’s Renaissance Track we will look at the sustainable innovations which are, and may in the future, play a part in the re-invention of such industries and the incumbent companies within them. In the i3 Connect Track, more than 50 leading innovation companies will present themselves, looking to connect to corporates, industrial partners, and investors.

Early check-in to Cleantech Forum Europe 2015 for exhibitors and those attending tours or pre-meetings.

For the 7th year running, Cleantech Forum Europe will offer a pre-Forum opportunity to see some of the cleantech sights of our host city/area. This year, we are offering an afternoon cleantech tour to visit the National Research facility – CNR ICCOM (Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici), which is just outside Florence (Sesto Fiorentino).  The participants will take a bus from the Forum’s conference centre (please report to the registration desk) for 15-20 minutes, to be able to see and meet the researchers involved in two chemistry-related fields:

1. Nanotechnology and electro-catalysis in energy related fields
   1. a. Fuel Cells and hydrogen production. Development of low cost alternatives to platinum fuel cell catalysts.
   2. b. Fuel cells fed with renewable bio-alcohols. Production of hydrogen as energy vector from energy efficient processes such as the electro-reforming of bio-alcohols and from metal hydrides.
   3. c. Transformation of waste CO2 into fuels through electro-chemical processes.
2. Next Generation Photovoltaics: DSSC (Dye-sensitized solar cells) Technology
   1. a. Design and synthesis of new dyes for DSSC aimed to increase the conversion of sun radiation, the duration of dispositives and the transparency, but also to develop new colored cells.
   2. b. DSSC’s are next generation photovoltaic devices, the main features of which are:
      • – Good efficiency, low costs, good buildings integration
      • – The materials used are generally non-toxic, eco-friendly, and in plentiful supply.
      • – The photovoltaic performance is almost independent from the direction of light, thus the devices are particularly suitable for recovering diffuse light or for North-facing positioning, offering an alternative possibility of application compared to silicon devices.

Registration is required (via the online Forum registration form) to secure your spot (limited to 25 attendees).

Download here the bio’s of the researchers you will meet on the Tour

As usual with Cleantech Forum Europe, we provide a pre-Forum opportunity to get to know the local innovation ecosystem and some of the key players in our host country, Italy. The Italian Council for Eco-Innovation is holding an afternoon meeting to which any Cleantech Forum delegates are welcome to attend. You can download the final agenda/program here.

You will hear from and meet leading voices such as: Andrea Bairati, Director of Innovation and Education, Cofindustria; Carlo Papa (until recently Chief Innovation Officer of Enel Green Power, now in charge of the Enel Foundation); Stefano Firpo, of the Ministry of Economic Development, who is leading the drive to help make Italy more start-up friendly; Roberto Cingolani, the Scientific Director of IIT Genoa, an institution at the heart of Italian research and technology; and Nicola Redi, an experienced venture capitalist in Italy.

Hosted by: The Italian Council for Eco-Innovation

The opening session will provide an introduction to this year’s host region (Tuscany) and host country (Italy). We will hear from Leonardo Ghezzi of IRPET (Istituto Regionale Programmazione Economica della Toscana) with a view on Toscana 2030 – and what a region such as this is doing to make itself sustainable and fit for the realities of the 21st century. We will also hear some views on how Italy is looking to cultivate a stronger start-up/venture capital environment, as part of its drive towards its own industrial and economic renaissance.

Moderated by: Richard Youngman, Managing Director, Europe & Asia, Cleantech Group

We will end with two keynotes. ENEL’s Head of Innovation, Carlos Gómez-Múgica de la Rica, will share his views on the Utility of the Future and McKinsey’s John Newman will share some “hot off the press” perspectives on the trajectory of battery and energy storage costs – and their possible implications for all of us.

Moderated by: Kerry Cebul, Vice President, Advisory, Cleantech Group

Until his recent untimely death, Guido Ghisolfi, a director of Mossi & Ghisolfi, a global leader in plastics, was a true “cleantech” entrepreneur. As CEO of Beta Renewables, a Global Cleantech 100 company in both 2013 and 2014, he was a global leader in the development of chemicals from renewable sources.

All our guests are invited to attend this special networking reception, leaving you free afterwards to explore the culinary delights of Florence for dinner.

Hosted by: Regione Toscana and Toscana Promozione

Coffee and pastries – not a full breakfast – will be served before the start of the morning plenary, in the Forum Networking Area (Floor 2).

As usual with Cleantech Forum Europe, the opening morning session will include a ‘State of the World’ keynote from Cleantech Group on our updated views on “innovation trends” to take note of. Two questions we have been asked in early 2015 more than any other include: what does the sudden drop in the price of oil mean? And what do we (CTG) think and know about the energy access theme and the “impact” investors behind it? This explains our two guest keynotes: Jérôme Schmitt, EVP of TOTAL who will provide viewpoints on what operating in a low oil price environment means, on the role O&G companies could play to prepare the future of energy everywhere, for the greatest number; and why the world’s innovation brains are necessary to achieve such goals; and Nick Hughes, a co-founder of M-KOPA Solar, the first African company to make CTG’s annual Global Cleantech 100 who will talk about the energy access opportunity, the value in ‘connected devices’ and delivering energy services for the vast off-grid market.

Moderated by: Sheeraz Haji, CEO, Cleantech Group

Ever since CTG’s ground-breaking 2010 paper, The Rise of the Corporation in Cleantech, CTG has been cultivating relationships with corporations – and their venturing and open innovation initiatives – to help connect them to relevant and strategic innovation activity. i3 consistently records that more than 1 in 5 deals across the sustainable investment space includes a corporation. You have heard start-ups do their 5-minute pitches. Now it is the turn of the MNCs. Ahead of the break, we will introduce you to a few key corporations looking for innovation today – two corporations providing updates on what is top of mind for them currently (GE, Saint-Gobain); and three will be making their debuts at a Cleantech Forum (Anglo-American, Embraco and Sime Darby).

Moderated by: Jules Besnainou, Director of Product Development, Cleantech Group

After the networking break, Cleantech Forum Europe will run in two parallel tracks over the next two days:

1. The i3 Connect Track: Connecting Live with Corporates, Investors, and Partners More than 50 leading innovation companies, from across the breadth of the sustainability theme – and from across Europe and beyond – will present themselves over the next two days, looking to connect to corporates, industrial partners, and investors.

2. The Renaissance Track: New Innovations for Old Industries The Renaissance marked a sea-change for Italy, and ultimately, Europe. In re-discovering learnings of the past, a new chapter of prosperity began, driven by an explosion of innovation and experimentation in the arts and sciences. In many ways, the European economy and old European industries are today looking for their own rebirth, through re-discovering a focus on efficiency and sustainability, and through identifying new businesses, products and services, as part of a search for corporate re-invention. In the Forum’s Renaissance Track we will look at the sustainable innovations which are, and may in the future, play a part in the re-invention of such industries and the incumbent companies within them – by focusing on specific themes described below.

In the first 30 minutes of the Utilities session, ENEL will describe to us its New Ventures programs and what they are looking for, from across Europe, by illustrating what they have already done with two start-ups, and why.

Introduced by: Quitterie de Rivoyre, Analyst, Cleantech Group

Hosted by: ENEL

If there was one leading example of an industrial grouping in Europe in need of re-birth and re-invention, utilities must be high up – if not top of – that list. Much of their ability to navigate the transition depends on better serving their customers in the advancing world of self-generation, self-storage, micro-grids, etc. – and in today’s world more broadly in which customers are used to empowerment, choice and control. This session is designed to provide a sweep of the landscape from different perspectives, on different geographies, different utilities and different customers, and on what kind of things are already being done – more interestingly what is emerging and being planned, and what opportunities and issues arise. How can utilities re-invent their relationships with customers, and with what new services, in the coming years? And what does that mean to others in the industry?

Moderated by: Sheeraz Haji, CEO, Cleantech Group

Hosted by: GE Ventures

Competitively selected CEOs from across our 18 innovation sectors will present their companies, in search of capital and partners. You can vote for your favorite company presenter via our Cleantech Forum event app. See the Showcase page for more information on the presenting companies.

Expert Reviewers: Nicholas Atkins, Partner, Georgieff Capital, Ian Cooke, Director, Carbon Trust and Astorre Modena, Partner, Terra Venture Partners

Moderated by: Karsten Hojberg, Clean Tech Business Development Manager Europe, Autodesk

Hosted by: Autodesk

Chubb, our lunch host, is holding a small, invitation-only roundtable for 10-12 CEOs during lunch.

Hosted by: Chubb Group of Insurance Companies

Enjoy the lunch break on either Floor 1 (where there will be the potential to sit at roundtables) or Floor 2 (where you have the chance to chat with some of our exhibitors). Post-lunch coffee will only be served on Floor 2 – indeed, that is where you find coffee, tea, or water at any time during the Forum.

Hosted by: Chubb Group of Insurance Companies

Digital opportunities are in modo in sustainability investing right now – with some of the best-known start-up companies globally providing the energy, utility and real estate industries with new resource-efficiencies, insights and actionable intelligence on their customers and operations. Equally, there are digital opportunities to provide efficiencies in the Oil & Gas industry, as recently explored in our own Digital Oilfield white paper, and as exemplified by initiatives such as Chevron’s iFields, BP’s Field of the Future, and Shell’s Smart Fields. This session will provide the Forum with some insights into the digital innovation opportunities for Oil & Gas, through the eyes of a range of experiences and perspectives. The session will begin with an i3 introduction to the range of company types CTG has seen emerging in this sub-sector.

Moderated by: Leo Zhang, Senior Analyst, Cleantech Group

Hosted by: Intesa Sanpaolo

Competitively selected CEOs from across our 18 innovation sectors will present their companies, in search of capital and partners. You can vote for your favorite company presenter via our Cleantech Forum event app. See the Showcase page for more information on the presenting companies.

Expert Reviewers: Hans Dellenbach, CFO, Emerald Technology Ventures and Arne Morteani, Principal, Environmental Technologies Fund

Moderated by: Karsten Hojberg, Clean Tech Business Development Manager Europe, Autodesk

Hosted by: Autodesk

According to CTG’s i3, the transportation sector took more than 40% of the global venture and growth capital invested into clean technology companies last year. At the heart of that though is not the vehicle itself, but an explosion (a bubble?) of investment into companies with apps for taxis and ride-sharing, driving analytics and remote fleet management, and solutions around the autonomous and automated car. A new era for the car seems to have begun. Rapid developments in the ‘connected car’ space are paving the way towards crash avoidance, reduced congestion and better overall driver experience and convenience. Sensors, data algorithms, crowd sourcing, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are some of the latest advents of the most sophisticated automobiles. In this 60-minute session, learn from people that are at the forefront of research and innovation in the connected and automated car space. What are the leading and missing innovations? Who will monetize the market and how? What do they view as the obstacles towards mainstream adoption? The session will begin with an i3 introduction to the range of company types CTG has seen emerging in this sub-sector.

Moderated by: Nicolas Chaudron, Partner, Idinvest Partners

Hosted by: FIAT Chrysler Automobiles

In the best traditions of Cleantech Forum Europe, we will welcome four delegations this year to showcase upcoming innovation companies that are in search of capital and partners. You will be able to meet them in the exhibit/networking area (Floor 2) and hear them present in the i3 Connect Track. Sweden, the host of the 2014 Forum, will kick us off. Companies confirmed to date are (in alphabetical, not running order): Climeon, Ferroamp, HeatCore, Optistring, Smart Innovation, Sol Voltaics, Wattguard.

Expert Reviewers:  Alois Flatz, Venture Partner, Zouk Capital and Stephane Villecroze, Managing Director, Demeter Partners

Moderated by: Andreas Stubelius, Senior Project Manager, and Joachim Jämttjärn, Business Developer, Swedish Energy Agency

Hosted by: Swedish Energy Agency

According to the UN, 54% of the current world population already live in cities. By 2050, they expect that percentage to rise to 66%. More staggeringly, given population growth forecasts, that means another 2.5 billion people in urban areas in the next 30 years. Are the cities of tomorrow ready to cope? Smart Cities is one of the buzzwords of our time, subject of many glossy reports. But what is really happening at ground-level? Is this a real opportunity for younger companies? What specifically are the opportunities and the challenges in accessing them? This session will introduce you to 4 companies with solutions for Cities. You will hear from each presenter, followed by a discussion around what each is hearing/learning from Cities today; how each sees the concept of Smart Cities developing; and what visions they have of what Cities of Tomorrow could look like (and how that might vary by age, size and location)? The session will begin with an i3 introduction to the range of company types CTG has seen emerging in this sub-sector.

Moderated by: Troy Ault, Director of Research, Cleantech Group

In the best traditions of Cleantech Forum Europe, we will welcome four delegations this year to showcase upcoming innovation companies that are in search of capital and partners. You will be able to meet them in the exhibit/networking area (Floor 2) and hear them present in the i3 Connect Track. Israel, the ‘start-up nation,’ returns again this year and will complete today’s i3 Connect Track. Companies confirmed to date are (in alphabetical, not running order): Capital Nature, Ecotech Recycling, Emefcy, Enstorage, E.S.T Ecologic Systems, Green Ride, HARBO Technologies, Metrycom, NanoSpun Technologies, PDP Technologies

Expert Reviewers: Ludwig Goris, Investment Manager, Capricorn Venture Partners and Fabio Lancelotti, Principal, Aster Capital

Moderated by: Adi Bokobza, Business Development Manager, The Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute

Hosted by: The Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute

Freshen up after a long day, and get ready for a fabulous dinner in a special venue that we feel honored to have been granted permission to use. We will be able to offer a limited number of people a chance to join a 45-minute guided tour of the Palazzo Vecchio, built over 600 years ago when Florence was one of the most important and richest cities of the world. The tour will visit the sumptuously decorated and furnished private rooms of the Medici court, and you will get to see a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

You will have the chance before the Forum to reserve yourself a place on a pre-dinner tour (indeed you could do so today by confirming your spot here); at the Forum itself, places will only be available if there are places remaining.

Join us for the 11th Cleantech Forum Europe Dinner & Awards. There will be drinks on arrival from 7:30pm, followed by an 8:00pm seated dinner in the 14th century Palazzo Vecchio, in the world-famous Piazza della Signoria (a 15-20 minutes’ walk from the conference center through the majesty of historical Florence via the Duomo). The 2015 European Cleantech Awards will be presented during the evening.   All dinner seats have been reserved and pre-allocated. If you have a seat but can no longer attend, please hand in your ticket at the Registration desk. If you would like a seat, please come to the Registration desk to see if there is any availability within the wait-list system.

Coffee and pastries – not a full breakfast – will be served before the start of the morning plenary.

At CFE 2013 CTG, in partnership with Georgieff Capital, released the report European Cleantech Fundraising 2013-14: Investors have their own chasm to cross. We felt it was time to provide an update on that paper, which looked at all the sources of where companies were raising funds – everything from venture and growth capital, through to corporates, crowdfunding, families and public money. As a complement to that update, we have invited three people with different perspectives and experiences for an interactive discussion on what kind of companies fit which type of investors (that is to say, which horses for which courses) – one is StartGreen who, as well as being a VC, have started Oneplanetcrowd, a crowdfunding platform specialized in sustainable investment opportunities, operational in both Germany and the Netherlands; another is Colin Le Duc, Partner of the growth capital Climate Solutions Funds, and the third is CTG’s own partner in China, Fred Chang, to address when China investors may and may not be suitable ‘horses.’

Moderated by: Richard Youngman, Managing Director, Europe & Asia, Cleantech Group

Despite a cooling down of appetite from investors, in private and listed companies, for bio-energy and bio-chemical companies,  interestingly in CTG’s annual Global Cleantech 100, the biofuels and biochemical sub-sector was the third most strongly represented in 2014 with 10 companies – all of which were ranked in the top 50, and 3 in the top 10. This suggests to us that a higher proportion, if fewer in number, of private bio-based innovation companies have grabbed investor and industrial mindshare, and could be on the cusp of significant commercial breakthroughs. Technical progress is being made and, even more importantly, business models that do make sense and do have a route to profitability are being found. This 60-minute session gathers together some such companies, and a leading venture investor in bio-companies, to reflect on how far the bio-economy has come in proving out that real profitable businesses can be built from turning renewable feedstocks into bio-based end-products, and to speculate on where the next 5 years could take the “Feedstocks to End Product” theme. As we look at ideas of how Europe can bring about some kind of industrial renaissance, does the bio-economy provide one such opportunity? What models work and make sense? Which do not? And why?

Moderated by: Jos Peeters, Managing Partner, Capricorn Venture Partners

Hosted by: Capricorn Venture Partners

In the best traditions of Cleantech Forum Europe, we will welcome four delegations this year to showcase upcoming innovation companies that are in search of capital and partners. You will be able to meet them in the exhibit/networking area (Floor 2) and hear them present in the i3 Connect Track. We are delighted to be welcoming this year for the first time, a delegation organized by Climate-KIC. Climate-KIC is Europe’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on climate innovation.

Expert Reviewers:

Valeria Bandini, European and International Dept. Manager, ASTER, Climate-KIC RIC Emilia-Romagna Coordinator

Diogo Gernhardt, Corporate Venture Leader, Embraco

David Sanders, Innovation Director, Carbon Trust

Hosted by: Climate-KIC

Europe (and Italy) generated much of its wealth on manufacturing. However, in recent decades, much of that has been outsourced and offshored, and global supply chains have developed built on economies of scale without much concern for resource-efficiency or creating local jobs. As concerns for resource-efficiency and security of supply grow, local manufacturing looks set to go through some kind of re-birth – much in the way locally-grown foods are. 3-D printing is one of the dynamics behind that potential – among many others. But how is this playing out at the ground-level? Are young innovation companies already making a difference? How do they view the opportunity to change the established manufacturing norms, and what issues are they running into? This session will introduce you to some case study companies to stimulate our thinking around the opportunities that exist for innovating incumbent manufacturing processes and lengths of supply chain. The session will begin with an i3 introduction to the range of company types CTG has seen emerging in this theme.

Moderated by: Troy Ault, Director of Research, Cleantech Group

In the best traditions of Cleantech Forum Europe, we will welcome four delegations this year to showcase upcoming innovation companies that are in search of capital and partners. You will be able to meet them in the exhibit/networking area (Floor 2) and hear them present in the i3 Connect Track. Flanders completes the set. Companies confirmed to date are (in alphabetical, not running order): Enervalis, Europem, Millibeter, The Sniffers, and Turbulent.

Expert Reviewers: Henrik Olsén, Managing Partner, Environmental Technologies Fund and Pascal Siegwart, Partner, Aster Capital

Hosted by: Flanders Cleantech Association

Like yesterday, lunch can be taken on either Floor. However, note that Floor 1 will, at approximately 1.30pm, become more a seminar-style Lunch. See below – highly relevant to people interested in connecting to countries in Asia and Latin America. Floor 2, in the exhibit area, will be a free-form networking lunch.

One of the biggest challenges for European SMEs is how to find and develop commercial opportunities in far-away growth markets. Another could be described as, “What are all the programs run by the European Commission to help (eco-innovation) SMEs that you could take advantage of?” This seminar-style session is designed to help on both fronts. For those particularly interested in Asian and Latin American markets, we are gathering representatives from a number of EU-funded programs to give you (especially, but not exclusively, CEOs) the opportunity to spend some informal time with experts each hosting a roundtable. The following Centres/Networks will each have a roundtable to host:

• the EU-Indonesia Business Network (EIBN);
• the European Business and Technology Center (EBTC) in India;
• the EU SME Centre in China; and
• the Mercosur IPR SME Helpdesk .

And there will be a 5th table where all Asia-based initiatives will be represented but with a particular focus on the European Association for Business and Commerce (EABC) in Thailand. You can download here an overview of these different EU Business Support Initiatives. As the European Union plays a major role in co-funding these internationalization initiatives, it is important for businesses to identify and understand how to benefit from them. The session is an extended 85 minutes (starting during the lunch break) to allow delegates to spend time at, at least, 3 of the roundtables, time enough to have an initial conversation and, more importantly, to make the connection for future follow-up. Expect an introduction to what kind of opportunities in what kind of sectors might exist for European SMEs in particular countries – and how these EU-funded Business Support initiatives can help you.

Moderated by: Phillip Morrison, Client Services Manager, Cleantech Group

Hosted by: EUROCHAMBRES

Agri/Food opportunities are in modo in sustainability investing right now – and while in Tuscany, and ahead of Milan’s upcoming “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” World Expo, how could we not look at this area? According to our own i3, this sub-sector took almost 10% of the sustainable investment deal count in 2014 in Europe & Israel, up from about 2-3% in 2007-10.  Why now? What’s caused this change? What are the types of opportunities opening up, and to whom? This session will explore the landscape through the eyes of companies and people who are driving programs for sustainable change in Food & Beverage companies and/or people who are using sustainable technologies and renewable energies in their operations to make food and drink.

Moderated by: Michele Parad, Client Services Manager, Cleantech Group

Each year we try to find a new subject area that none of the previous 10 Cleantech Forums in Europe have featured before – and a subject area that is appropriate for the location. Last year in Sweden, we looked at the shipping/marine industry, and in Italy this year, we will look at Fashion – sustainable innovations for the clothing industry.

Moderated by: Jules Besnainou, Director of Product Development, Cleantech Group

The closing reception will be hosted by the to-be-announced host city of the 2016 Cleantech Forum Europe.