Clearly there are profound differences between startups and larger, more established companies. Large corporates may have more resources but tend to be more averse to risk. Startups on the other hand tend to have more freedom and agility to experiment and change course if something isn’t working. However, this brings with it more risk. Their relatively smaller size can also mean that they have fewer levers to pull when dealing with unexpected headwinds – be they economic or otherwise.

There are countless examples in recent history of startups shaking up the status quo with novel ideas and approaches. Necessity after all is the mother of invention, and innovation often comes out of adversity. Some of the great problems of our time have been solved precisely because of – rather than in spite of – a lack of resources. It can force people and organisations to come up with creative solutions to problem-solving, using only the resources and technologies that are available. If we are to reach net zero in the required timeframes, innovative thinking is certainly needed. How then, can we combine the culture, creativity and agility of startups, with the experience and reach of larger companies to achieve the best of both worlds?

ABB’s Startup Challenge is an example of an attempt to bridge this gap between the corporate and startup worlds. The challenge is an annual competition run by ABB, in which startups are tasked with developing novel and sustainable solutions to the most pressing challenges, particularly in the electrification sector.

Winning entrants are given the opportunity to embark on a six-month collaboration with ABB, in which both parties co-develop a pilot solution that aims to push electrification technology forward. There are benefits for both sides: the collaboration alone is worth $30,000 for the startup at the outset. Successful projects are then commercialised and brought to market.

The challenge seeks to be a win-win both for ABB and the participating startups. The startups stand to benefit from ABB’s vast expertise within the field of sustainability, along with its global customer base, distribution channels, and market reach. For its part, ABB endeavours to learn what it can from the startups to breed a culture of innovation within ABB and encourage new ways of working to ultimately develop better customer solutions.

The challenge has already been highly successful. Often, the startups enter a second round of R&D that allows them to continue to build their solution for future marketisation. ABB will continue to work with the entrepreneur to get the solution market ready. If the new solution is ready to enter the market after the initial six months, both parties will enter into a co-marketing and commercial licensing agreement. ABB can also invest directly.

For the startups, the prize is a no-strings-attached, six-month collaboration with coaching courtesy of ABB’s Synerleap growth hub and Microsoft. This period also allows both parties to find out more about one another, with a view to deciding whether to proceed with a deeper relationship once the six months are over.

Many startups go on to this next phase of collaboration. For instance, Pratexo is an Edge computing tool designed to find the root causes for failures in the electrical distribution network and ABB is continuing to work in partnership to develop the technology further. Similarly, one of the 2021 winners was Tallarna, with whom ABB developed an evaluation tool to calculate how much you could save by adding renewables to industrial sites. Since the initial partnership, both companies have continued to collaborate to bring innovative and exciting offerings to our customers. Meanwhile, ViewAR’s Augmented Reality (AR) solutions are now fully embedded in digital apps to enable engineers to locate parts safely and easily when inspecting switchgear.

Everyone has a part to play in the journey towards net zero, and every little bit of progress helps. Put simply, every gram of carbon dioxide that is prevented from entering the atmosphere, is a small step towards keeping global temperatures at manageable levels. Of course, achieving net zero requires much more than individual molecules. Shifting the dial at the scale and speed required necessitates a culture of rapid innovation and collaboration to take the very best ideas and initiatives and fast-track them into viable solutions.