From exciting start-up awards to insightful panel discussions and meaningful networking, ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team had a busy few days at the heart of the action for the Start-Up Energy Transition (SET Tech) Festival on 17 March. The Berlin event celebrated its 10th year in driving global energy innovation and climate solutions.
This 2026 edition of the SET Tech Festival, organised by the German Energy Agency (dena), a BASS Energy Task Force member, marks a decade of bringing together ideas and partnerships that are helping to shape the global energy system, while creating opportunities for innovative start-ups.
"Over the last 10 years the SET Tech Festival has grown into more than a conference,” reflects Corinna Enders, dena CEO. “It has become a global platform where innovation meets implementation, a place where start-ups, investors, policy-makers, industry leaders and researchers come together to share knowledge and experience and work together on our shared goal to turn ideas into solutions.”
As a springboard for businesses and innovative solutions, the Festival has a strong synergy with ESA BASS.
“It is fantastic to be so closely involved with SET Tech,” explains Asimina Syriou, Energy Lead for ESA BASS. “The Festival strongly aligns with our work at ESA BASS—supporting innovators to develop breakthrough solutions that respond directly to market needs and deliver real impact.”
The role of space in critical energy infrastructures
Speaking to a busy room of corporate leaders, investors and start-ups looking to make new connections and to find innovative ways to drive the energy transition, Rita Rinaldo, Head of Applications Projects and Studies Division at ESA BASS, took to the stage for the “Critical Energy Infrastructures: A Space for Innovation?” panel discussion.
“What is clear is that space is a critical infrastructure per se and as such requires to be secure and protected. At the same time, space infrastructures and data are crucial in increasing resilience in many other sectors, including the energy sector,” says Ms Rinaldo.
Ms Rinaldo continues: “Thanks to satellite connectivity networks, we can ensure continuity of operations as a back-up to terrestrial networks. Precision-timing and positioning information are essential for digital grid sub-stations. And thanks to satellite Earth observation data we can support the monitoring of infrastructures in the face of a broad range of threats.
Our societies are confronted with threats that seem to be coming more rapidly one after the other, and affecting supply chains and infrastructures – there is clearly a need to improve preparedness, response times and flexibility. Space is essential to address these challenges.”
Selecting the Start-Up Energy Transition Award winners
Fifteen finalists from all over the world delivered compelling pitches in five categories aligned with the Festival’s core themes of renewable energy, mobility and sustainable technology.
Sitting on the SET Awards Jury, Ms Syriou had the challenging task of assessing the entries alongside a distinguished group of experts from across the sector.
SET Tech Awards Jury Day: Asimina Syriou, Energy Lead for ESA BASS, alongside fellow jury members
“I was truly impressed by the quality and diversity of the pitches – there was a strong sense of purpose and innovation throughout the day. Selecting the winners was not easy, but the final choices reflect solutions with clear potential to address real market needs. It will be exciting to see how these ideas develop and scale in the future,” says Ms Syriou.
“The SET Awards are not only about recognition but they are also about visibility, connection and opportunity,” adds Ms Enders. “It helps young companies to gain access to partners, investors and markets that can accelerate the technologies. Many companies that first stood at this stage have now had great success and have grown into influential players. This is the real success story of the SET Awards.”
The 2026 winners were announced at the Awards Ceremony on the evening of the Festival:
- Mykor, UK (Category: Building & Construction)
- Finmile, UK (Category: Mobility & Transportation)
- Biomassters, Rwanda (Category: Quality Energy Access & SDG 7)
- Cyclic Materials, Canada (Category: Industry)
- Flower, Sweden (Clean Energy & Storage)
Supporting start-ups with space-enabled applications
Start-ups are at the heart of SET Tech Festival, and ESA BASS was pleased to share its booth with seven companies currently or recently engaged with BASS activities. These companies are developing innovative applications to develop space-enabled applications within the energy sector, and the Festival provided a valuable platform to showcase their work while expanding their customer and investor networks.
Together with dena, BASS also hosted a well-attended information session highlighting the range of BASS funding opportunities available, and offering practical guidance for innovators to scale up their solutions.
To conclude the busy few days Ms Syriou said: “It’s been a truly energising few days—supporting dynamic new-generation of companies, sparking fresh opportunities for innovators, and watching start-ups build the connections that will turn bold ideas into real-world, market-ready solutions for the energy transition.”
Pia Dorfinger, Start-up Ecosystem Director at dena, echoed this sentiment with these final words: “I always walk away form SET Tech Festivals so refreshed, with so many ideas. It such a great mix of reunion with people who come here every year but at the same time always having these fresh new ideas and connections.
In the last decade the sector has grown and we have come a long way. The world keeps changing and evolving, and there is still so much to do, but we have seen is that we are on a trajectory that is unstoppable.”