Energy Challenge Germany

Energy Challenge Germany: German Startups for the Energy Transition in Chile

Between 2021 and 2024, the Energy Partnership Chile-Germany—a bilateral platform supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and the Chilean Ministry of Energy—developed the program Energy Challenge Germany: German Startups for the Energy Transition in Chile, an acceleration program organized by the AHK Chile and the Bavarian State Office for South America, with the support of WERK1, Fraunhofer Ventures, and SpinLab. The objective of this program is to introduce German energy startups to representatives of the Chilean industry, showcasing the innovative potential of the German entrepreneurial ecosystem and opening international business opportunities in the Chilean energy sector for German startups.

During its past editions, the initiative offered a soft-landing process to German startups that had already validated their solutions in the European market and were seeking to grow in Latin America. Each cohort received strategic advice, technical-commercial agendas in Santiago and Antofagasta, and the opportunity to present their innovations in Chile.

2022 Edition – Winners

• ARI Motors (2016, Borna, Saxony) manufactures ultra-light electric vehicles for last mile logistics. Their ARI 901 van transports up to 900 kg and reaches ranges close to 495 km, with multiple body configurations for urban delivery.
• Breeze Technologies (2015, Hamburg) deploys microsensors that measure pollutants every 30 seconds and integrates the data into an artificial intelligence platform to develop emission reduction plans for companies and municipalities.
• Ecoligo (2016, Berlin) implements the solar-as-a-service model, financed through crowdinvesting. By the date of their participation, they had developed more than 200 photovoltaic projects and mobilized over €50 million in collective investment for commercial and industrial clients in emerging markets.

2023 Edition – Winners

• greenventory GmbH (2019, Freiburg/Karlsruhe) offers a SaaS solution based on digital twins that inventories, analyzes, and optimizes urban energy systems. The software generates interactive maps by building that visualize consumption, generation, and efficiency potentials, facilitating municipal heating planning.
• INERATEC GmbH (2016, Karlsruhe) installs modular power-to-liquid plants that, using green hydrogen and CO₂, produce e-kerosene and synthetic fuels. In 2024, the company signed a multi-year catalyst contract to expand e-fuels production and operates Germany's largest PtL plant.
• Eeaser (2021, Freiburg) aims to provide every factory in the world with the knowledge needed to achieve industrial energy efficiency. Their software, the eeaser accelerator, identifies energy-saving opportunities and facilitates their implementation through specialized advice.

2024 Edition – Winners

• carbonauten GmbH (2017, Giengen an der Brenz) operates decentralized factories that carbonize lignocellulosic waste and generate biochar and bio-oils, components of NET Materials®, industrial precursors with a negative CO₂ balance for the plastics, chemical, and construction industries.
• Phelas GmbH (2020, Munich) presents Aurora, a liquid air storage system with proprietary thermal management, and Catalyst, a tool that models the profitability of storage projects in markets with high renewable penetration.
• Nexol Photovolthermic AG (2016, Mainz) introduces smart heating elements that transform existing electric water heaters into photovoltaic-powered hot water systems, with automatic switching to the grid when necessary.

The three editions of the Energy Challenge Germany demonstrate the capacity of binational cooperation to articulate innovation, technology transfer, and business opportunities around the energy transition. The program consolidated a direct link between the German entrepreneurial ecosystem and key actors in the Chilean energy industry, facilitating pilot projects, the generation of commercial partnerships, and the identification of market niches for solutions based on clean energy, efficiency, and storage. Based on the results obtained, the Energy Partnership Chile-Germany and the organizing entities aim to maintain this acceleration space and explore the possibility of launching new editions in the coming years. With this, they hope to continue contributing to the advancement of carbon neutrality in both countries and strengthen the insertion of German startups into Chile's energy value chain.