Deploy your technology in a real factory. We pay for the pilot
Do you have a working prototype and no industrial customer to give you their hall and their data for a test? Since 2017 we have connected startups with manufacturers in the Startup Spark accelerator: the company states its problem, you deploy the solution there, and a grant covers the cost of the pilot.
What we will do for you
In nine years we have taken more than 250 startups through the accelerator and paid out PLN 40 million in grants. We know what a startup needs most: an industrial customer, and the money to run a test there.
01
We find you a manufacturer for the pilot
The Technology Recipients are companies from the Zone’s investors and their partners, Ericsson, Veolia, Skanska and Delia Cosmetics among them. They bring a real problem, and you test your solution on their lines and their data.
02
We fund the deployment with a grant
The grant covers the cost of the pilot, in the current edition up to 100%. We take no equity and charge no fee for taking part. You will find the amount on the programme website.
03
We give you mentors from industry
For up to six months of acceleration you work with the partner’s experts and with our mentors. We help you prepare the offer, the feasibility study and the financial analysis of the deployment.
04
We show you to the industry and to investors
Every round closes with a Demo Day at Fabryka Grohmana, and between rounds we invite you to the Business Mixer. In the room sit manufacturers, funds and companies looking for your technology.
How it works
Spark runs in editions and application rounds. A few months pass between the application and the deployment, and every stage has a clear goal.
You send a short pitch deck during the pre-selection window. We look for companies up to five years old and founding teams with technology ready to be checked in industry. An idea on its own is too early.
After 1:1 conversations we match your solution with a company that has exactly that problem. Together you agree the scope of the pilot, the data and where the test runs.
For a few months you work on the partner’s shop floor and data, with mentors on both sides. We settle the grant and keep the schedule.
You present the result of the pilot to the industry and to investors. The test result is your argument when you talk to the partner about a commercial roll-out.
Projects we run for startups
We support startups through two Zone projects: an accelerator with calls, and a standing board of technology needs.
Startup Spark 4.0
Has already connected over 250 startups with the region’s large companies.
Discover Startup Spark 4.0
SparkAlert
A board of companies’ real technology needs: a startup sees at once what the market is looking for.
Discover SparkAlert
Is this support for your company?
Spark is for startups with a technology and for manufacturers with a problem. Check which side you are on.
- Who
- Micro and small companies up to five years old, founding teams, and manufacturers looking for a solution
- Where from
- All of Poland and abroad; the deployment runs at the partner, usually in the region
- What you do not need
- An office in the Zone, an investor or a finished product on the shelf
A working technology that can be checked in industrial conditions is enough. Spark is for teams that are past the idea stage.
Before you book a consultation
It depends on the edition and the path. In the recent editions the grants reached several hundred thousand PLN per startup and covered up to 100% of the cost of the pilot. The current amount and the rules are on the programme website.
No. The programme is financed from European Funds for a Modern Economy, and we run it as the operator selected in PARP’s competition. We take neither equity nor fees.
Yes. Teams from all over Poland and from abroad apply to Spark. The pilot runs at a partner company, and an address in the Zone makes no difference.
Post the need on the SparkAlert board, or join a round as a Technology Recipient. We look for a startup with a ready solution, and the pilot runs at your site.
This edition is devoted to the circular economy: ecodesign, recycling, product life-cycle analysis and circular logistics. We run it as one of two operators of the Scale Up Green programme in Poland.
We announce a call for every round separately, on the programme website and in the Zone’s events. Leave your contact details and an account manager will let you know before it starts.
Book a free consultation
Leave your contact details and the accelerator’s account manager will call back and check whether your technology fits the current round. The conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
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Accelerator account managers
Ewa Grabowska-PałęgaProject Manager / Spark 3.0 / Spark 4.0ewa.grabowska@sse.lodz.pl
Przemysław NowakowskiExpert / Spark 3.0 / Spark 4.0przemyslaw.nowakowski@sse.lodz.pl
Magdalena SmulczykExpert – Community Managermagdalena.smulczyk@sse.lodz.pl
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