Phase 1: Idea generation
The generation of ideas is open to everybody. The call for ideas is organized through initiatives addressed both to employees of the company and to seed and early-stage start-ups, universities and external research centres.
- Our platform
- The process of innovation
- Corporate Venturing
- The ecosystem
- The challenges
Our platform
Open Innovation means enabling the exchange of ideas by means of sharing platforms
We concentrate our investments in Europe with the aim of obtaining positive outcomes in the areas we serve and of supporting the ecosystem of innovation. For this reason, we believe in the concept of digital sharing platforms through which it is possible to find potential visionary partners, without barriers.
It is not just a question of gathering ideas but of investing concretely in real innovation projects, facilitating and speeding up the onboarding of start-ups, businesses and research agencies into A2A thanks to a dedicated digital platform.
The process of innovation
We create new ways of promoting the Circular Economy and the Energy Transition
We want to transform ideas into successful products and services. To do so, we have set out a process in three phases, conceived to reduce risks of failure and maximize development of the best ideas.
Phase 2: Concept assessment
The most promising ideas are assessed, with analysis of both technical aspects (with a Proof of Concept to evaluate feasibility and technological readiness) and economic ones (attractiveness on a potential market).
Phase 3: Solution incubation
Having successfully come through the first two phases, the positively judged ideas are presented to senior management, which identifies a working group, defines objectives and guides the overall development of the idea.
Corporate Venturing
We use Corporate Venture Capital to face the challenges of our time
Our Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) scheme aims to promote innovation through investments in start-ups with great innovation and growth potential.
The programme was initialized with the participation of a number of partners, including Capital 360 and the Poli360 fund of Politecnico di Milano, which can rely on the university’s research capabilities, on its Technology Transfer Office and on the Polihub incubator.
Our Corporate Venture Capital fund foresees investments in seed and early-stage start-ups operating in Europe in business sectors of strategic importance for the company, the Circular Economy and the Energy Transition.
With our initiatives, we want to:
Protect and reinforce our core business
By identifying innovative technologies and business models
Support business evolution in the long term
By creating a pipeline of initiatives
Spread the culture of innovation
Within the company and increase the relevance of the A2A brand in the world of innovation
Obtain outcomes in the areas that we serve
With the purpose of supporting the ecosystem of innovation
Corporate Venture Building
We transform brilliant ideas into impactful ventures to accelerate the ecological transition
At A2A, we are always on the lookout for innovative ideas that have the potential to evolve into new ventures that can make a significant impact in the fields of energy transition and the circular economy. We dedicate our resources, expertise, and the passion to turning these ambitious ideas into successful ventures.
The ecosystem
We believe that innovation starts with sharing
Open Innovation means creating a real ecosystem in which to collaborate with others and build a flow of knowledge sharing that is functional to innovation. We believe that collaboration is an essential element in achieving concrete objectives.
We have therefore created a virtuous process of generation and management of innovation that has allowed the building of strong relationships with other entities in the ecosystem: incubators and accelerators, innovation hubs, universities and research centres, venture capital funds.
There are many in the ecosystem with whom we collaborate. To name a few:
Plug and Play Italy, InnoCentive, Polihub, 360 Capital, Polihub, Eureka! Venture SGR, CDP Venture Capital SGR, Ellen Macarthur Foundation and Italian Tech Alliance.
Partner
Challenges to create collaborations
We believe in the strength of start-ups’ ideas
With our Challenges, we turn to start-ups but also to companies and research institutes, simplifying the administrative procedures and providing an innovative digital Startup Kit, which serves as a project guide.
The best solutions are put before our management before collaborations get under way and become concrete projects.
+78
Trials completed
+600
Start-ups in the ecosystem
+17
Challenges launched
The digital Startup Kit to collaborate with us
Inside our digital Startup Kit, you will find all the information you need to get the collaboration under way, to access our working platform and to become part of our ecosystem.
Useful resources
Services
A2A S.p.A. - P.I. 11957540153