Italgas, the first distributor of natural gas in Italy and third in Europe, opens an Innovation Antenna in Silicon Valley, as part of the “Mind the Bridge Innovation Center” in San Francisco.
The initiative is part of the “Ideas 4 Italgas” program launched in 2020, which aims to find the best US startups. The ultimate goal is enhancing research activities and strengthening the innovation efforts to contribute towards continuous improvement of the Group’s performance.
The goal of this collaboration with Mind the Bridge, an international platform that advises and supports companies and government organizations in the field of open innovation, is to create the ideal conditions for Italgas to get in touch with the most interesting startups and scaleups in the United States. Furthermore, to spot and intercept upcoming technological trends and finally strengthen the scouting capabilities both in Silicon Valley and internationally.
Initially, the focus will be on identifying conditions and projects that are able to strengthen the digital transformation of Italgas. The Italgas Innovation Antenna will officially debut at the Mind the Bridge Scaleup Summit in San Francisco, 17-21 October. A Bootcamp will be organized to meet the startups that can work with Italgas to contribute to its digitization plans, operational efficiency, and sustainability goals, according to the company’s 2022-2028 Strategic Plan.
“Gas distribution sector is historically very traditional – commented the CEO of Italgas Paolo Gallo – We acted as pioneers in terms of technological innovation by leveraging our digital factory, open innovation, and venture capital. Through continuous scouting, we encountered important trends that allowed us to grow, innovate and enhance our contribution to the ecological transition. Therefore, we are happy to strengthen our presence in the world’s largest innovation cluster. This will give new impetus to our journey of transformation.”
“Over the past few years Italgas has been investing in shaping a new digital mindset by capillary mapping the digital skills within the company and involving its team in new innovation processes – commented Alberto Onetti, Chairman of Mind the Bridge – The next challenge is to scale up the collaboration with startups in quality and quantity. Opening an Innovation Antenna in San Francisco is a decisive step in this direction. This will give Italgas direct access to the world’s largest source of innovation: Silicon Valley.”
Extremely interesting