The European Innovation Council (EIC) introduced a ‘Co-creation’ opportunity between Europe’s largest corporates and EIC beneficiaries as a way of helping them build win-win synergies and co-create solutions with business partners. Following the EIC GHG Co-creation with Bondalti online event, we met with Diogo Mendes, Technical Director at the company to provide us with some insights.
The motto is simple, progress at something means moving forward together. The same applies to co-creation. Under the EIC Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Programme, beneficiaries work together to co-create new green solutions with business partners to address potential sustainability challenges. In this light, after the Bondalti co-creation event, we had the chance to meet with Diogo Mendes and pose him some questions. Here’s what he had to say.
Can you briefly describe your role within the company and explain your motivations for joining the EIC GHG initiative?
I’m the Technical Director at Bondalti and responsible for the identification and development of innovative solutions for the decarbonisation of our operations. We believe that the decarbonisation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an important matter and can’t be achieved without strategic partnerships and collaborations with third parties (such as innovators, scientists, researchers, and academia).
Our focus is to produce industrial chemicals more sustainable and competitive, and in that sense, we need to find great solutions that help us in our business. Hence, this opportunity with the EIC has been so fruitful because it allowed us to exchange knowledge with several start-ups and that provided us with good confidence in the capacity of these entities when it comes to innovation and providing effective solutions for today’s industrial needs.
The EIC GHG Programme is all about reducing GHG emissions and moving towards a carbon-neutral future. What is your company doing in this regard?
In 2020, we launched our Climate Transition programme – which clearly states our commitment towards climate neutrality (industrial and economically speaking). There are many challenges ahead of us in that regard since we’re an electro-intensive industry and the main materials we produce are based on fossil fuels.
Our products and company operations possess an intensive carbon footprint; therefore, we have a lot of work ahead of us. For instance, with 1) supplying energy from renewable sources to operate our processes, 2) scouting for sustainable alternatives in raw materials, and 3) looking for ways to reduce our residues waste. Ultimately, this will help us reduce the overall GHG impact on our business.
Unlike other flagship Business Acceleration Services programmes, this initiative is focused on co-creation as opposed to single rounds of pitching. What does co-creation mean for your company/yourself and what are the benefits compared to a ‘normal’ pitching session?
This pitching session format is interesting because we’re able to identify what the challenges are, what we need, and what has a straight to the point and direct way of heading towards the resolutions of the proposed challenges.
Therefore, accessing the presented ideas and identifying their potential technical and economically speaking was easier. In my opinion, this is the main difference from other pitching sessions. We also felt that the SMEs have lots of experience, so that helps a pitching session to be more efficient and effective.
What mindset and skills do you look for in companies (start-ups and scale-ups) for co-creation activities?
We feel there’s a lack of innovative companies in the market able to deliver quality results, open to establishing transparent partnerships, be client-driven, and communicate well the results. That’s why we joined the EIC’s co-creation initiative to have access to creative minds that can deliver these types of innovations. Not to mention that are skilled, can think, create, and develop an idea. This enables us to forge important partnerships and business relationships.
What are the benefits/advantages of working with the EIC and its portfolio of SMEs?
I think it’s an efficient way of having access to a large group of SMEs that bring added-value, innovative ideas, and (potentially) solutions that can turn into business opportunities. In addition, having experience with funding is also a benefit. Therefore, these reasons granted us the confidence to do business with the portfolio of SMEs that the EIC provided.
What are your views on the online event and the quality of the companies pitching?
The overall assessment is good. We were impressed by the quality of the pitching sessions, the message that came across was clear, was well oriented towards problem-solving, and of a clear value proposition.
That’s why we find these types of initiatives valuable and the fact that people from different locations in Europe can join makes it even better – plus, promotes interaction and creates partnerships. Therefore, the event was useful, the message was clear, and well-coordinated by the EC.
To conclude, what would make this EIC GHG Co-creation initiative a success for your company and what are you hoping to get out of it?
In the end, the success of this initiative is measured by being able to identify a technology or solution that works – thus, turning it into a business solution. Of course, there are other variables such as establishing connections, so should we not be able to execute the ideas that derived from this event straight away, we’ll still have the contacts we’ve made with the SMEs to help us in other challenges.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.