Agenda for TBB2026

Hosted by JETRO: presentations from Japanese organisations and InnoEnergy, followed by networking and pitches from selected portfolio and Japanese start-ups.

This session will present key findings from the Clean Tech Skills Report: Trends Shaping 2027–2030, developed by InnoEnergy Skills Institute within the European Solar Academy. It will explore demand trends, critical roles, skills gaps and transferable capabilities across clean tech sectors, with a particular focus on solar PV workforce needs. The report covers: - Workforce gaps and challenges - Skills and talent demand in solar PV and batteries - AI and automation and their effects on the clean tech workforce - Skills needs in green hydrogen, wind and heat pumps, and transferable skills across clean tech. The presentation will be followed by a short expert discussion on priority actions for industry. This session is powered by:

Why this topic, why now? Energy costs, supply chain pressure and a tougher competitive position are forcing producing companies to innovate faster than their own R&D cycles allow. Start-up partnerships are one of the most direct routes to do so, but a factory is not a software company: plants, shifts, safety standards and long supplier relationships change what collaboration can look like. This panel asks how Mittelstand companies spot the right innovation opportunities in the first place, and how they turn start-up partnerships into results. Who is on stage, and what will we discuss? Mittelstand leaders and a start-up founder share what keeps a producing company awake at night in 2026, how they identify where innovation is actually needed rather than merely interesting, what triggered their first partnerships, which formats have delivered and which have failed, and what it takes to scale a successful pilot from one plant to the whole company. Who is this for? Mittelstand and industrial companies that want to work with start-ups but struggle to identify the right opportunities or move beyond pilots Start-up founders selling into manufacturing who want to understand what their counterpart is actually dealing with Investors and ecosystem partners assessing what makes corporate-start-up collaboration in DACH succeed or fail

please also adjust the blurb: Encosa Energy | Unlocking the Potential of Battery Storage for Industry How can industrial and commercial businesses leverage battery storage to reduce energy costs and increase flexibility? Sebastian Becker from Enkosa Energy will explore the business case for commercial and industrial battery storage, highlighting economic benefits, real-world applications and the challenges of scaling energy storage solutions.

Why this topic, why now? Turning breakthrough technologies into successful businesses takes more than a great idea. DeepTech start-ups face long development cycles, high capital needs and the challenge of proving commercial demand. What does it take to attract investors and successfully scale? Who is on stage, and what will we discuss? Sarah Teinert from UVC Partners will lead this masterclass, joined by DeepDrive as a success case. Together, they will explore what makes a DeepTech start-up investable, how investors assess technology and market risks, and which decisions matter most when moving from research to commercial scale. Expect practical insights, real challenges and lessons learned from both investor and founder perspectives. Who is this for? DeepTech founders preparing for fundraising or scaling their businesses Investors interested in early-stage technology and commercialisation Researchers and innovators looking to turn breakthrough technologies into successful companies

Investors are navigating longer horizons, liquidity constraints, and changing market conditions, while fund managers must balance new opportunities with LP return expectations. For their portfolio companies, the bar is now commercial, not just technical: customers, revenue potential, scalability and a credible path to industrial deployment matter. And the longer between funding rounds, the greater the risk. In the investor track, we will examine the latest trends, shifting conditions, and what changes we need to see in the capital market for win-win-win. Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

The de-risked path to successful factory build: Scaling clean technologies rarely fails because of innovation alone. Most projects encounter challenges around industrialisation, financing, permitting and execution. Europe’s competitiveness depends on reducing risk and accelerating deployment. In Session A, experts explore the milestones and risks that shape a credible investment case for a first factory. Three entrepreneurs then present their projects at the pre-FID stage, giving participants the opportunity to assess the cases, challenge assumptions and vote on the investment decisions. What this session delivers: A practical understanding of what needs to be in place before committing to a first factory investment, from financing and engineering readiness to planning for industrial delivery. Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

Challenge:​ Too many collaborations stop at pilot stage.​ Misaligned incentives, procurement barriers and unclear pathways prevent startups from scaling with corporates.​ What track delivers:​ A practical, discussion-led experience designed to bridge the gap between innovation and commercial adoption.​ Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

Challenge:​ Clean tech innovation is moving fast, but market signals, regulation and investment priorities are constantly shifting. ​ Companies and investors need clarity on where real opportunities – and risks – lie. ​ What this track delivers:​ A forward-looking, insight driven experience designed to connect market trends, policy developments and emerging innovations with real strategic decisions.​ Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

Why this topic, why now? Europe’s energy transition is no longer only a question of how much clean power we add, but whether the grid holds when weather, demand and geopolitics push it to the limit. This panel asks what resilience actually requires in 2030: which proven technologies carry the load today, which breakthroughs could change the picture in the long run, and who pays for a system that keeps the lights on. Who is on stage, and what will we discuss? Operators, technology builders and public innovation agencies compare notes on where Europe’s grid is weakest, how far battery storage and co-location can carry resilience, how much stability can come from smarter dispatch and flexible industrial load rather than new assets, and when breakthrough technologies like fusion become relevant for the grid. The discussion closes on capital: the appetite and timelines for storage assets today versus the patient capital breakthroughs need. Who is this for? Utilities, grid operators and industrial energy consumers assessing where their own resilience risks sit and which technologies to bet on Investors looking at storage and grid assets today and weighing the timelines and risk of breakthrough technologies Policymakers and public agencies working on the framework that decides whether resilience is a business case or a public good

Why this topic, why now? AI is turning electricity into the scarcest input of the digital economy. This panel cuts through the demand forecasts to the practical question: what does Europe need to build, where does the build-out hit physical limits in materials, supply chains, labour and siting, and who finances it? Who is on stage, and what will we discuss? Operators and investors from the energy and digital infrastructure space share what they are building and backing today: how flexible compute loads can really be, how much of the stability problem gets solved in software rather than with more copper, where automation can speed up the physical build-out, and how they segment the opportunity between digital, hardware-enabled and asset-heavy plays. Who is this for? Corporates and SMEs assessing what the AI build-out means for their energy supply, supply chains and own infrastructure Start-ups building in and for this space Investors looking for a clear map of AI-infrastructure deal types and where the line between venture and infrastructure capital runs

Technology is changing how investors work. In this session, we will dive into how AI tools can help investors drive efficiency and make better decisions. Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

The de-risked path to successful factory build: Scaling clean technologies rarely fails because of innovation alone. Most projects encounter challenges around industrialisation, financing, permitting and execution. Europe’s competitiveness depends on reducing risk and accelerating deployment. In Session B, we revisit the three industrial projects introduced in Session A to examine what happened after the final investment decision. Entrepreneurs and experts analyse what drove progress, where projects got stuck and which risks were underestimated. Participants can question the outcomes, share their own experience and discuss how these lessons could inform future projects. What this session delivers: Practical lessons from real project outcomes to help anticipate bottlenecks, reduce execution risk and move from investment decision to production at scale. Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

Challenge:​ Too many collaborations stop at pilot stage.​ Misaligned incentives, procurement barriers and unclear pathways prevent startups from scaling with corporates.​ What track delivers:​ A practical, discussion-led experience designed to bridge the gap between innovation and commercial adoption.​ Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

Challenge:​ Clean tech innovation is moving fast, but market signals, regulation and investment priorities are constantly shifting. ​ Companies and investors need clarity on where real opportunities – and risks – lie. ​ What this track delivers:​ A forward-looking, insight driven experience designed to connect market trends, policy developments and emerging innovations with real strategic decisions.​ Please note: Participation in this track is limited to 200 attendees. We encourage early registration to secure your spot.

Why this topic, why now? Europe is electrifying everything while rebuilding generation around wind and solar. The bottleneck has moved from generation to grid: 9.4 TWh of renewables curtailed in Germany in each of the last two years, EUR 3.1 billion in congestion costs in 2025. Capital is flowing into grid tech, but not every grid problem is a start-up problem. Who is on stage, and what will we discuss? Felix Krause (Vireo Ventures) and Anna Stetter (HTGF), two early-stage investors who screen start-ups across Europe every week, share the findings of their latest grid study, built on conversations with grid operators, utilities, investors and founders and a map of around 120 European grid start-ups. They show which grid problems venture-backed start-ups can realistically solve, which belong to incumbents, infrastructure capital or politics, and what it takes to sell to a grid operator. Who is this for? Founders in grid flexibility, DSO software or energy cybersecurity; investors looking for a map of the grid opportunity; grid operators and utilities who want to know what the start-up ecosystem will bring them.