The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) successfully completed the first year activities of Phase 2 of the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP). In Phase 2 of GCIP, with the aim of transforming solutions in the field of clean technology into startups and increasing the number of existing startups, as well as preparing clean technology entrepreneurs for the national and global market, the successful teams of the GCIP Türkiye 2023 Accelerator Program, received their awards at the ceremony held in Ankara.
"As Türkiye, we take a pioneering approach in the fight against climate change"
In his speech here, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır said that the world is going through an important bottleneck due to multidimensional crises such as wars, global epidemics and climate change.
Emphasizing that the construction of a sustainable and inclusive economic model by taking early measures against these risks that threaten the economic and social welfare of humanity is urgent in order to leave a livable world for future generations and to prevent the degradation of nature, Kacır said:
"As Türkiye, we take a pioneering approach in the fight against climate change. The 'Zero Waste Project' carried out under the auspices of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan is a concrete example of this approach. We continue our efforts to implement an emission trading system in line with the carbon border regulation in our country. We have also started the process of harmonizing our national policies and programs with the European Green Deal. By strengthening our green transformation infrastructure and developing the technologies we will need with local and national opportunities, we will continue our country's growth journey on the route of investment, employment, production and exports in the Turkish Century."
Providing information on the supports provided, Kacır said, "With the incentives we have provided for renewable energy, energy efficiency and environmental investments, we have paved the way for 10 thousand 535 investments with an investment size exceeding 637 billion liras since 2017."
Emphasizing that the share of renewable energy sources in total installed electricity capacity has reached 55 percent, Kacır said that they have recently increased their cooperation with international financial institutions to support green investments.
Kacır said that through the "Decarbonization Roadmaps for the Steel, Aluminum, Cement and Fertilizer Sectors" prepared with the contributions of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, they determined the applicability of alternative technologies, expected emission reductions, the size of the required investments and the policies to be implemented in these strategic sectors.
Kacır pointed out that they developed "sectoral road maps" and offered perspectives for the future, and reminded that they launched the World Bank-supported " Türkiye Organized Industrial Zones Project" and the " Türkiye Green Industry Project" to accelerate the transformation of organized industrial zones (OIZs) into green OIZs.
Kacır stated that with a budget of 250 million dollars allocated to KOSGEB, they support projects that will reduce the carbon footprint of SMEs and increase resource efficiency.
"'Green Growth Technology Roadmaps' are a guide for our industrialists in determining their innovation and R&D technology needs"
Stating that they provide R&D support to companies conducting R&D and innovation studies focusing on green production processes, increased energy and resource efficiency, and private sector-led collaborations with the $175 million portion of the project allocated for TÜBİTAK, Kacır said, "The 'Green Growth Technology Roadmaps' we prepared with our sector representatives serve as a guide for our industrialists in determining their innovation and R&D technology needs. Our goal is to develop the green technologies needed by our industry with domestic and national opportunities, to become a country that exports technological products and services by establishing leading technology initiatives in the field of green technologies."
Stating that there is an important window of opportunity to achieve this goal, Kacır said that global green transformation policies require companies to take bold steps.
Pointing to the rising demand for climate-friendly products and services, green energy, equipment and infrastructure required for the production of these products, Kacır said:
"The demand for green technologies will create an annual economy of 12 trillion dollars by 2030. With the approach of transforming paradigm shifts in technology into opportunities for the development of our country, we are mobilizing our R&D and technology development infrastructure, human resources and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Through TÜBİTAK scholarship and support programs, we have provided 14.7 billion TL support to 2,869 projects and 2,661 people in the field of green transformation and climate change in 22 years. We support projects directly related to priority R&D and innovation issues within the scope of compliance with the Green Deal with TÜBİTAK. In this context, we will open our Green Transformation Focused TÜBİTAK 1004 Center of Excellence Support Program call as of today and continue to strengthen the ecosystem. With this call, we will support research platforms consisting of project bundles."
Kacır stated that they launched the "Entrepreneurship Support Program (BiGG) Green Growth Calls" for green growth, offering support of up to 900 thousand liras to entrepreneurship projects, and that within the scope of the calls, they ensured the realization of 237 initiatives in priority R&D and innovation topics that serve green growth.
Emphasizing that they also support entrepreneurs with the Global Clean Technologies Entrepreneurship Program, Kacır said, "In the second phase of the program, which we launched last year, 28 teams selected among 91 applications were entitled to participate in mentoring and acceleration training."
Kacır informed that the winning teams will represent Türkiye at the "Global Cleantech Days' event to be held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, in June.
"From awareness to necessity"
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK, said that within the scope of a total of 5 accelerators organized in 2013-2018, covering the first phase of the program, applications were received from 899 initiatives with solution proposals in the field of clean technology, 139 of which were included in the "GCIP Accelerator". Mandal said, "When you go back 10 years ago, considering climate change and its impacts, it was a more awareness-oriented process. We were talking about the same issues, but for that day, some of the scenarios for the future were challenging. However, for that day, the prominent dimension of the program was more awareness-oriented."
Stating that the second phase of the program was launched in June 2022, Mandal noted that this phase covers the years 2022-2027 and is carried out by TÜBİTAK in cooperation with UNIDO with a budget of 18.8 million dollars.
"Cooperation network created"
Mandal stated that 91 teams applied to the first call opened in May last year, and after evaluating them in terms of "team", "technology", "product" and "market" dimensions, 28 initiatives were included in the accelerator program and 12 teams made it to the finals.
Prof. Dr. Mandal said: "When we look at the future, our entrepreneurs have efforts and efforts at the point of creating solutions to our needs, which are at the point of necessity, both for our country and for humanity. First of all, I congratulate all our entrepreneurs, 12 of them are here today, but I also congratulate our 91 entrepreneurs who set out on this journey. We find their efforts very valuable."
Emphasizing that the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry came together for the success of the program, Mandal said that a solid cooperation network was created with the participation of the private sector and non-governmental organizations, and that this is one of the best examples of the vision of developing and achieving together.
"It will contribute both socially and economically"
Mandal said, "When we look at the future, our friends are trying to create a technology based solution towards the complexity, volatile and dynamism of the issue. However, the impact it creates and the impact it will create is quite critical when we compare it with other fields, both socially and economically, and when we consider the geopolitical advantages and difficulties of our country. This impact will contribute to our country both socially and economically. Therefore, we find the Global Clean Technologies Entrepreneurship Program valuable in creating solutions for the needs of our country and people."
Stating that 28 entrepreneurs were selected and subjected to trainings within the scope of the accelerator, Mandal noted that a critical process was left behind under the follow-up of both UNIDO and mentors, and said that they would learn the winners together with everyone from the Minister today.
Emphasizing that the excitement will not end here, Mandal said, "Together with the 15 countries in this program, we will enter a competition that will take place in June, where the winners of the international competition will compete. Therefore, I congratulate all our entrepreneurs and wish success in advance for the entrepreneurs who will represent us."
Announcing that they are preparing for a new call, Mandal said, "We will open a new call in 2024 and these calls will continue to be opened until 2027."
"The main objective of the project is to develop a clean technology innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem"
Süleyman Yılmaz, President of UNIDO Türkiye, informed that GCIP is implemented in 16 countries, including Türkiye, and said:
"We invited the ambassadors of these countries to the ceremony. The reason for this is that we may have cooperation opportunities with them. We may also have some global activities. The main purpose of this project is to develop a clean technology innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Our goal here is to support start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs. We have divided these categories into energy efficiency, renewable energy, water efficiency, green buildings, waste recovery, advanced materials and chemicals, and smart transportation."
Awards were presented
As a result of the accelerator, business ideas in the field of clean technology were supported with awards given by TÜBİTAK. The first prize was 300 thousand liras, the second prize was 200 thousand liras and the third prize was 150 thousand liras. The winners of the Successful Women Entrepreneur Award and the Successful Entrepreneur Award in the Field of Sustainability were presented 100 thousand liras each.
OSTİM Teknopark, one of the GCIP stakeholders, gave "PROTA Special Membership Award" to 3 GCIP teams. Entrepreneurs selected within the scope of this award will be able to use the Makerspace area in the PROTA Technology Production Workshop free of charge for 1 year and will be able to meet their prototype production demands with the machines in the High Technology Machine Park with a 20 percent discount.
The winning teams at the national level will represent Türkiye in the global competition where entrepreneurs from 16 countries where GCIP is conducted will take part. TÜBİTAK, in cooperation with UNIDO and with the support of stakeholders, will continue its activities until 2027 to create investment-ready and scalable initiatives that can create global change in the field of clean technologies through GCIP.
The program is carried out under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology with the participation of stakeholders such as the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, METU, OSTİM Teknopark, Izmir Development Agency, Arçelik AŞ and the Cooperative for Circular Economy (DCUBE).
After the speeches, plaques were presented to the 12 finalist teams. The winners received their awards from Minister Kacır.
First place went to Myconom, second to Vesselx and third to Microhobist. Microhobist also won the "Successful Women Entrepreneur Award". Biolive won the "Successful Entrepreneur Award for Sustainability". In addition, EvBEE, SMEFF and VESSELX teams were awarded the "PROTA Special Membership Award" by OSTİM Teknopark, one of the project stakeholders.
09.04.2024