Clean energy start-up Brayfoil Technologies won the energy investment village pitch competition, positioning it to access international finance for project development.
Brayfoil came out tops at the event held on the sidelines of the ongoing Green Energy Africa (GEA) summit in Cape Town, which saw 10 clean-energy start-ups pitch their business ideas to potential investors.
The firm designs turbine blades that change “shape to reduce loads, enabling larger, more efficient, more reliable and affordable devices”. Its technology also has applications in the wind energy, aerospace, sailing and automotive sectors.
The GEA summit seeks to find ways of accelerating the adoption of renewable and low carbon energy.
Organisers say international investors holding collective assets of $100 billion were invited to attend the pitch session, and several conversations between start-ups and investors have been initiated and will continue after the event.
Brayfoil won a R20 000 cash prize from First National Bank, a year’s business membership with the Africa Scotland Business Network (ASBN) and a half-day ASBN branding and marketing workshop.
The other investment village finalists were Keren Energy, the first green hydrogen producer in SA, and SlideLuvre, developer of a smart, two-in-one sun-tracking solution for solar energy efficiency.
The pitch competition is a joint venture between Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus, the Research Institution for Innovation and Sustainability and the GEA summit.
The initiative aims to directly support South African business in accessing international finance for project development.
“This exciting live-pitching addition to the programme exceeded our expectations in giving innovative, clean-energy start-ups exposure to potential investors and facilitating conversations that will continue well beyond the summit. We fully anticipate hosting the event again next year,” says Paul Sinclair, VP for energy, Africa Oil Week and GEA summit.
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