EIC brokers meetings between Mota-Engil, VELUX and 14 EIC-backed innovators to pilot healthier, energy-efficient buildings
- ›On 26-27 August 2025 the EIC organised a Multi-Corporate Day in Copenhagen with Mota-Engil and VELUX to match corporate needs in construction and indoor climate with EIC-backed start-ups.
- ›Fourteen start-ups from 11 countries pitched technologies spanning indoor climate, low-carbon materials, digital twins and construction productivity.
- ›Corporates reported targeted, business-oriented conversations and interest in pilots, while the EIC emphasised coaching and selection to make engagements market-ready.
- ›Practical barriers remain obvious, including certification, procurement timelines, site integration and the uncertainty of pilot-to-scale conversion.
- ›The activity is part of the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme, which reports broad reach but whose longer term conversion rates should be measured carefully.
EIC links Mota-Engil and VELUX with 14 EIC-backed innovators to trial healthier, energy-efficient buildings
On 26 and 27 August 2025 the European Innovation Council ran a Multi-Corporate Day in Copenhagen alongside Tech BBQ 2025. The event paired two sustainability-focused corporates, Mota-Engil and VELUX, with 14 EIC-backed start-ups from 11 European countries. The objective was explicit. The EIC prepared and coached the selected teams so they could pitch concisely, and then facilitated one-to-one meetings intended to lead to pilots, co-development or investment discussions. The activity is a delivery of the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme and is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services.
Event format and stated aims
The Multi-Corporate Day followed a standard open innovation format. EIC staff selected start-ups from its portfolio, provided proposal feedback and pitch coaching, and organised short, focused meetings between start-up founders and corporate decision-makers. EIC spokespeople described the approach as designed to move beyond discovery and towards concrete next steps such as pilots and procurement discussions. Organisers and participants framed the event as a time-efficient way for corporate teams to screen potentially deployable solutions and for start-ups to access procurement pathways and technical guidance.
What the corporates said and what they were assessing
Representatives of Mota-Engil and VELUX described the day as efficient and business oriented. Andrea Fontecilla, Transformation Director at MEXT-Mota-Engil, said the session gave the company a concise view of solutions that align with its focus and interest. She emphasised search for technologies ready to pilot and the value of discussing site realities, logistics, safety, certification and integration into planning workflows. Tyler Moersch, Lead Specialist in Radical Innovation at VELUX, praised the EIC preparation because it made pitches comparable and quickly allowed feasibility judgment. Both corporates signalled interest in continuing a small number of targeted discussions that could result in pilots.
EIC staff framed the activity as proof of concept for the programme's matchmaking capability. Ekke Van Vliet, Investment Coordinator at the EIC, observed targeted, constructive interactions and said organisers hoped the conversations would culminate in tangible agreements. Start-up participants reported immediate technical feedback and clearer procurement pathways. One example quote came from Treble Technologies, whose CEO said corporate feedback looked likely to translate into proof-of-concept projects.
Start-ups on the stage and their propositions
The selected 14 EIC-backed innovators offered a range of practical solutions oriented to indoor climate, energy efficiency, circular materials, digital twins and construction productivity. Below is a consolidated list as presented at the event with short descriptions. The descriptions are paraphrased for clarity and retain the substance of the start-ups' technologies.
| Company | Country | Technology focus |
| AIRLITE | United Kingdom | Daylight-activated mineral coating said to purify air, improve thermal comfort and provide passive energy savings |
| CRIATERRA INNOVATIONS | Israel | Kiln-free, cement-free tiles and panels using circular inputs and claiming ultra-low embodied carbon |
| CROCUS LABS | Germany | Spectral sensing and adaptive lighting that aligns lighting with circadian rhythms for wellbeing and efficiency |
| EVEROX (C2CA TECHNOLOGY) | Netherlands | Industrial upcycling of waste concrete into aggregates, sand and binder as drop-in material |
| LUMOVIEW BUILDING ANALYTICS | Germany | Rapid room-scale digitisation producing BIM outputs and energy-relevant data |
| MATERRUP | France | Low-carbon, cold-activated clay cement intended for mainstream concrete uses |
| PAEBBL | Sweden | Accelerated CO2 mineralisation to create carbon-storing materials for construction |
| PARASTRUCT | Austria | Bio-aggregate screeds from reactivated binders for thermal, moisture and acoustic comfort |
| SAALG GEOMECHANICS | Spain | Cloud platform fusing monitoring data with models to optimise geotechnical designs |
| SIMLAB | Poland | 3D digital twin platform linking BIM, scans and IoT for design, installation and operations |
| SOLARGAPS | Ukraine | Smart solar blinds that combine shading with on-site electricity generation |
| TECHNOCARBON | France | Stone-carbon composite elements for low-carbon structure and integrated shading |
| TREBLE TECHNOLOGIES | Iceland | Cloud acoustic simulation and AV demos to quantify and improve indoor sound |
| VIZCAB (COMBO SOLUTIONS) | France | Life-cycle assessment platform to enable early-stage embodied-carbon decisions |
Technologies and terms worth unpacking
Where value can be unlocked and where doubts remain
The EIC event model addresses a genuine market need. Construction and building owners want low-risk pathways to pilot low-carbon products and to improve indoor climate. For corporates the value proposition is clear. They can test innovations in live projects and shorten procurement discovery phases. For start-ups the benefit is market feedback, technical direction and potential customer reference projects. However, the gap between pilot and mainstream adoption is nontrivial. The conversation at the event touched repeatedly on certification, health and safety, site logistics, integration with existing planning and asset management systems and procurement rules. These are the points that determine whether a promising technology moves from demonstration to commercial roll-out.
Participants flagged common, practical hurdles. Mota-Engil referenced the need to account for site realities, safety and how digital outputs fit into planning workflows. VELUX emphasised the need for concise, comparable pitches so feasibility and potential could be judged quickly. These are sensible operational filters. At the same time one should be careful not to over-interpret early-stage enthusiasm. Corporate interest must pass through procurement cycles, technical validation, and risk assessments before pilots can scale.
EIC claims, evidence and the need for measured follow up
The EIC points to the Corporate Partnership Programme's track record and recent report as evidence that curated matchmaking works. The programme reports organising dozens of initiatives and thousands of meetings with reported follow-ups and deals. That activity-level data is valuable. What matters next is transparent, consistent reporting on conversion rates from first contact to pilot, pilot to commercial contract and commercial contract to scale. These are the stages where attrition can be high, especially for deep tech applied to construction where regulatory cycles and procurement times are long.
| EIC Corporate Partnership Programme metric | Reported figure |
| Initiatives since 2017 | Around 80 |
| Corporate partners involved | +120 |
| Start-ups and scale-ups engaged | Over 1,200 according to programme summary |
| Corporate high-level representatives | +2,500 |
| Self-reported outcomes since 2021 | Thousands of meetings and multiple pilots and deals reported by the programme |
Implications and next steps for corporates, start-ups and policy actors
For corporates wanting to work with EIC-backed innovators the action items are practical. Define specific, measurable pilot criteria including acceptance tests, data exchange formats and procurement pathways. Invest in internal processes that speed decision making for small-scale live trials. For start-ups the priorities are to demonstrate repeatable performance, provide independent test data where possible and prepare integration plans that address safety, certification and procurement needs. For policy actors and the EIC the opportunity is to publish clearer conversion metrics and to support bridging services that reduce the administrative friction of public and private procurement for pilots.
The EIC continues to invite large corporations with an open innovation mindset to join the Corporate Partnership Programme. The programme also directs applicants to its open report Unlocking Innovation through Corporate-Startup Collaboration which consolidates lessons and best practices from past initiatives. The EIC Business Acceleration Services also promotes newsletters and an ecosystem of partners who provide follow-up support such as access to investors, procurement programmes and internationalisation services.
How to follow up
Corporates interested in the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme can apply through the programme's open application for corporations. EIC-backed start-ups and other innovators can continue to access the EIC Business Acceleration Services. The EIC also publishes periodic reports and maintains a newsletter to announce open calls and partner opportunities. Readers should treat early-stage matchmaking as the first, not the final, step in complex procurement and deployment journeys.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article is based on statements and materials provided by the EIC, participating corporates and start-ups. Reported outcomes and claims of impact are those of the programme or the companies involved. Independent verification is necessary to establish long term commercial results and environmental performance.