Lisa O’Riordan and Dr Mary O’Riordan, co-founders of HaPPE Earth, one of the selected start-ups. Image: Marc O'Sullivan
This year’s Accelerate Green cohort includes NanobOx, which won the One to Watch award at Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas Showcase in November last year.
Bord na Móna has announced the names of eight Irish start-ups that have been selected to take part in its second Accelerate Green programme to boost green innovation in Ireland.
The Accelerate Green accelerator aims to help Irish SMEs developing products and services based on green innovation to scale their business and help in the fight against the climate crisis.
Its first run was announced last March, when eight Irish start-ups were selected for the programme. Bord na Móna also launched a six-week pre-accelerator later in August to help nine climate-focused start-ups sharpen their business ideas.
This year’s Accelerate Green cohort includes NanobOx, Hibra Design, HaPPE Earth, Hub360, Superfy, Trinity Green Energy, EC Charging and CW Applied Technology. Together, they employ more than 70 people and have a combined turnover of more than €5m.
NanobOx recently won the prestigious One to Watch award at Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas showcase. The start-up has developed a highly energy-efficient technology to oxygenate water using nanobubbles.
Bord na Móna CEO Tom Donnellan said that of the 17 companies who have already come through Accelerate Green, the body has established a working partnership with six and facilitated 10 to scale up, secure more funding and diversify their business.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Accelerate Green, which has been developed in conjunction with Irish innovation advisory firm Resolve Partners and Erinn Innovation, will be located at Bord na Móna’s existing office complex in Boora, Co Offaly.
The programme is partially supported with funding through the Bord na Móna-led and EU-funded LIFE Integrated Project ‘Peatlands and People’ – an initiative that aims to support Ireland’s move towards becoming carbon neutral and environmentally sustainable.
Alongside revealing the names of the start-ups in the latest cohort, Bord na Móna also said it has committed to a further €5m investment in the Accelerate Green programme over the next three years which will support more than 50 companies to scale up.
The body said 15pc of this investment will be invested in targeting new companies to apply to Accelerate Green with a particular emphasis on identifying midlands-based companies.
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