The European Commission announced on Tuesday that 20 innovative start-ups and scale-ups will receive financial support of € 50,000 each as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative.
The Commission launched a new cultural and environmental initiative called the New European Bauhaus in January 2021, referring to the German art school after the first world war which was banned by Nazi-Germany in 1933, forcing its architects and designers to go into exile.
The initiative aims at becoming a bridge between the world of science and technology and the world of art and culture. According to the Commission, its core values are sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness.
“The New European Bauhaus is becoming a reality, ready to bring the ambitious goals of the European Green Deal into the spaces, cities, and homes we live in,” said Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, responsible for among others Innovation and Culture.
“The selected ventures are just the beginning,” she added. “With the support of EIT, more innovators and entrepreneurs will enrich and reshape our living spaces and experiences.”
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) selected the companies for its EIT Community Booster from a pool of 1029 applications from 37 countries. EIT supports innovative ventures enabling the New European Bauhaus transformation.
Five of its Knowledge & Innovation Communities (Food, Digital, Manufacturing, Urban Mobility and Climate) were also involved.
The EIT Community Booster will support the selected ventures in the form of grants and services to help them drive sustainable change for cities, industries, climate, food, well-being and improve the overall quality of life of European citizens.
Selected innovations range from sustainable urban farms that use 90% less water, to using soil microbes to generate light and energy, to transforming building facades to grow and protect biodiversity and fauna in public spaces.
The 20 innovations were selected from Germany (4), France (3), Sweden (3), The Netherlands (2), Spain (1), Italy (1), Israel (1), United Kingdom (1), Denmark (1), Austria (1), Portugal (1) and Ireland (1). The full list of ventures and innovations can be found here.
The Brussels Times
