With its holistic solution for energy data management, KUGU prevails in the final of the innovation competition and is awarded with a pilot project
As part of Gewobag's innovation and startup program, the innovation award was presented in Berlin on November 25, 2021. The focus of the competition was on innovative features, use cases and ideas for the analysis and processing of already collected data in order to sustainably improve Gewobag's carbon footprint. KUGU convinced with its platform for digital building management in terms of degree of innovation, feasibility, economic efficiency and strategic fit and was awarded 1st place. Second and third place went to Green Fusion and a cooperation between Delta Heat and Green Fusion. The startups Building Minds and Leanheat Building also participated in the finals.
Out of 40 applications, five innovative ideas made it to the finals
The award show was opened by presenter Tobias Kaufmann, who broadcast live from the Gewobag Innovation House Bülow90 together with the finalists and jury chairman Sven Harke-Kajuth. After a video greeting by Gewobag board member Snezana Michaelis, Sven Harke-Kajuth, CDO and head of digitalization and group services at Gewobag AG as well as managing director of Gewobag ID, gave a brief review of the competition and the selection process of the finalists. "From the first elimination round onwards, the level of all the projects presented was particularly high and so the decision also became increasingly difficult for us. All finalists convinced us with their out-of-the-box thinking."
The jury of experts unanimously awards 1st place to KUGU's solutions
The five selected finalists presented their solutions in a 6-minute pitch and answered the sometimes critical questions of the jury members. Afterwards, the winners were determined by the expert jury, which, in addition to Sven Harke-Kajuth, consisted of Karsten Mitzinger (Managing Director of Gewobag ED, Energie- und Dienstleistungsgesellschaft), Susanne Schmelcher (Head of Integrated Neighborhoods and Urban Heating Systems dena - Deutsche Energie Agentur GmbH), Peter Burgfried (Managing Director of Gewobag Mieterberatungsgesellschaft mbH), Beate Albert (Head of Smart Cities at Berlin Partner) and Malte Bädelt (Head of Organization and Human Resources Development). An intensive discussion followed, from which KUGU finally emerged unanimously as the winner and the prize was accepted by Christopher von Gumppenberg, founder and managing director of KUGU Home GmbH. With the 1st place KUGU is pleased about a starting money of 20,000 euros and a two-month practice sprint for the further development of the solution. This will be followed by the joint implementation of the pilot project worth up to 150,000 euros. "We are very pleased about the award and the trust placed in our solutions. We see the upcoming pilot project as a great opportunity to establish the topic of CO2 balance in building management," says Christopher von Gumppenberg.
The joint pilot project focuses on more sustainability
The Gewobag innovation award is part of the innovation and startup program of the state-owned housing company, which also includes Gewobag ID, Gesellschaft für Innovation, Digitalisierung und Geschäftsfeldentwicklung mbH, founded in early June. As a municipal housing company with over 72,000 residential units in Berlin, Gewobag attaches great importance to the efficient and trouble-free supply of heat, electricity and water to all tenants. In order to make the heat supply in particular more sustainable and to reduce CO2 emissions, Gewobag has put the topic of energy data management and the development of a corresponding platform at the top of its agenda. In KUGU, it has found a professional partner for joint implementation.
