The first Wärtsilä SparkUp Challenge, an initiative by Wärtsilä to find innovative start-ups to develop ideas for the smart shipping value chain, has been won by KNL Networks and Portcall.com.
The prize for the winners is a four-month collaboration and co-creation in the Wärtsilä Digital Acceleration Centre (DAC) beginning in March. In addition, they will receive a capital grant of 50,000 euros. Co-creation at the DAC takes place through an incubation phase and a go-to-market transformation.
KNL Networks and Portcall.com
Finland-based KNL Networks provides a data network for maritime communications, with their own hardware and cyber security, thereby eliminating the need to send data over the Internet.
Portcall.com, based in the USA, offers a collaboration platform that logs incoming and outgoing ships in ports, and optimises port operations.
Sparkup Challenge
The winners were selected by a jury made up of Wärtsilä’s own and external industry specialists at the SparkUp Challenge Day, which was held at Wärtsilä headquarters in Helsinki on 28 February. The eleven finalists were chosen from a shortlist of twenty start-ups, which were screened and evaluated based on their ability to complement Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine Ecosystem Vision.
Altogether, close to 150 companies entered the challenge from across the globe. The entries were submitted as applications via ventures.wartsila.com, as well as pitches during Slush, a start-up event in Helsinki in December 2017.
The focus areas in choosing the finalists were: ports, cyber security, voyage management, green management, fleet management, connectivity, and autonomous technology.
The next SparkUp Challenge focusing on Smart Energy will take off later in 2018.
