Unicredit’s Start Lab landed in Rovereto. A unique mentoring and venture capital platform for young start-ups, the aim of Start Lab is to discover the most promising young Italian hi-tech innovative companies and to support their growth through targeted investment and personalized business mentoring.

Start Lab has met a group of young entrepreneur from Trentino the 4^th of march at Progetto Manifattura, the largest Italian green-economy business hub, based in Rovereto. «Unicredit group, through its peers, is ready to invest up to 250K € in the most promising start-ups», said Giusi Stanziola, Unicredit Start Lab director. «We have granted 10K € for 4 different awards, we will offer education through  our Start-up Academy to strengthen managerial skills, thanks to Unicredit credentialed professionals».

Four young entrepreneurs based in Progetto Manifattura had the chance to present their business idea to the Unicredit team: Ecosistemi, Eneray, Noivion, Ecogriddy, all grown inside the incubating program of Progetto Manifattura.

Eco-sistemi has showcased their groundbreaking wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and swimming pool water treatment. Their plus is the size of the equipment: the smallest available on the market. «We highly appreciated this meeting, we had been able to pitch our idea and to receive positive and instructive comments. We hope to get to the next step and with one of the Uunicredit’s StartLab grant», said Dario Savini, CEO of Eco-sistemi.

Eneray has presented graphite-made radiant panel for walls and ceilings, hybrid solar panel (photovoltaic and solar thermic), thermic tanks, solar heating/cooling absorbing systems. Technologies that will increment energy efficiency by 30% , thus reducing energy consumption.

Noivion has focused instead on innovative ultra-thin nanotech films that has attracted different corporation attention thanks to their strength and thinness. By winter 2014 their product will be available on the market-

An ambitious cloud-based software to manage complex power panel and decentralized power grids. This software, by Ecogriddy, a young start up, enable local energy producer to cut cost and manage energy production and consumption in a efficient way. This can be key for renewable energy small scale produces, both for domestic or small business.

«Decentralized power production, managed by wired smart hardware are the future of energy production», explained to the public Ecogriddy founder, Luca Silvestri.

«Project like Start Lab can boost confidence, show that banks are rally around new, innovative, green entrepreneurial ideas, especially in the clean tech sector», explains Roberto Cacciatore, start-up mentor of Progetto Manifattura: «We support enterprise with highly innovative and solid business model. The higher the quality the bigger the investment».