Amsterdam incubator to fund clean energy start-ups
Amsterdam’s Rockstart has devised a 180-day accelerator programme for smart energy start-ups. In exchange for 8% of equity, each of the 10 start-ups to be selected for the scheme will be given a cash investment of €20,000 ($20,662) as well as office space and mentor support. Once the programme is finished, start-ups will have access to an alumni programme where they are offered support and advice on topics including marketing, legal services, and fundraising.

Start-ups brimming with bright ideas are becoming increasingly important in the field of sustainable energy. And Amsterdam's "global start-up machine" Rockstart has devised a scheme which places selected small companies bursting with killer energy ideas in an 180-day long accelerator program.



"What we do with Rockstart is we try to connect people… connect entrepreneurs to people who can support them," Rune Theill, co-founder of Rockstart, told CNBC's Sustainable Energy.

Rockstart's smart energy program looks to draw on the experience of more than 75 "smart energy mentors, investors and energy partners." Ten startups are selected, and in exchange for 8 percent equity, each one is offered a cash investment of 20,000 euros ($20,662), as well as an "in-kind" investment into benefits such as office space and hands on support from mentors.

"Our smart energy program is a program that accelerates start-ups from all across the world to become investable and scaleable, working on energy solutions, making use of IT, mobile data, connectivity, etc," Freerk Bisschop, who leads the smart energy program, said.

Once a start-up has finished the program, they can gain access to an alumni program that offers support and advice on a range of topics, including fundraising, marketing and legal services.

"Shortly after the program, they often find their first investor, that puts money in their organisation and allows them to grow," Bisschop said.