The programme is open to start-ups from across Europe.

The initiative seeks to support start-ups in the pre-production phase through a sweat equity, hosting up to ten start-ups, a significant increase from the first call which was open to four new ventures. In this second edition of the programme, priority will be given to projects focused on creating hardware and proprietary technology in different fields including mobility, robotics and automation, energy-tech, food & agro-tech and cleantech.

Oriol Pascual, the co-founder and CEO of Stage2, explains: "we were very pleased with the results of our first, pilot edition. We are even more proud that today, less than a year after the launch of Stage2, we can launch a second call and expand our acceleration programme.”

Mr. Pascual said: “We believe this is long overdue and much needed for the future of Europe and we hope that projects like ours close the existing gap between financing and the needs of promising new ventures”.

The accelerator aims to foster growth of industrial start-ups in need of support and resources to move to the phases of industrialisation, market validation and growth. To accomplish these goals, Stage2 offers a six-month support program, which takes place online and in La Verneda, Barcelona, where the accelerator has a 560m2 warehouse located within the industrial workshop of TMDC, one of its strategic partners. The space has machinery and industrial equipment, thus facilitating manufacturing of prototypes and other industrial parts and pieces.

"Our mission is to help Barcelona recover its long-standing position as a European industrial hub and become a centre of innovation and cutting-edge projects in Europe,” adds Mr. Pascual.

Six months of training, workshops, events, mentoring and coaching

The program will run from April to October 2023 and will focus on four core aspects: product industrialisation, market validation, team and growth strategy. The members of the 10 selected start-ups will participate in training sessions, workshops, industry events and mentoring meetings with innovation managers from large and established companies. In addition, this year, team members will also have access to coaching sessions which seek to provide the necessary technical support as well as the more managerial, leadership and human aspect of the projects.

After a first stage of receiving applications, valid until February 26, Stage2's committee of experts and partners will announce the ten selected projects on April 11.

More than 80 applications last year in 2022

In 2022, Stage2 received a total of 81 applications from start-ups from different sectors, including health, energy, mobility, food/agro-tech and artificial intelligence. In the first edition, 74% of the projects were Spanish, while European and North American accounted for 10% and 9%, respectively. There were also 6% of interested start-ups from Asia.

The four selected start-ups were:

• Time is Brain (MedTech): medical device that tracks brain activity once there are symptoms of a stroke in order to assess the most appropriate treatment.
• Loop DX (MedTech): a medical diagnostic device that allows rapid identification of sepsis (blood infection).
• Niche Mobility (Mobility / Clean Tech): electric motor for bicycles with automatic gear change and regenerative braking, unique in this sector.
• Metrica6 (Clean Tech): IoT device for efficient water management, both in housing and industrial environments.

Stage2 plans to increase the number of projects participating in its acceleration programme to 35 (40% more) by 2025. Stage2 is also working in the creation of a fund of 15 million euros to provide financial support to scientific-technical start-ups, which is expected to be up and running in 2024.

About Stage2

Stage2 is the first venture capital-backed accelerator for start-ups in the industrial space in the post-research phase in Spain. Promoted by ten entrepreneurs with experience in the creation of high value-added industrial companies, the objective of this Barcelona-based accelerator is to strengthen the role of the industrial sector and increase Europe's competitiveness by accelerating and investing in high-tech industrial start-ups.