Seismos Founder and CEO Speaks at Greek Parliament
Europe is strategically targeting its energy independence by leveraging a fast-track pursuit of clean energy solutions while securing safer access to traditional forms of energy generation.
On Monday Oct 31 2022, the Research and Technology Committee of the Greek Parliament conducted a meeting on the theme of Accelerating Clean Tech Innovation and Startup Entrepreneurship in the energy space.
Christos Tarantilis, Chairperson, and member of Parliament voiced that Clean-Tech startups can do more than ever to help solve Europe’s energy challenges. Such challenges would include the safe and reliable storage of renewable energy, the effective usage and management of smart energy grids and super grids, cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, the optimization of energy efficiency throughout the entire chain – from production to transportation, to distribution and to final consumption.
The CEO of Seismos, Panos Adamopoulos, spoke about Seismos' work in improving pipeline safety and in enabling natural gas & oil production efficiencies in the United States via its real-time acoustic sensing technologies. In addition, Panos described fundamental elements of the American innovation ecosystem that could eventually be applied in Greece. One of them, the "Startup America" initiative (introduced in the US in 2011) set clear priorities for the acceleration of innovation and entrepreneurship: The facilitation of partnerships between the Public and the Private sector in identifying opportunities and funding new businesses, the active support of startup companies navigating through the "valley of death" (the painful trajectory from research to commercialization), the encouragement of innovation in strategic fields of national interest (healthcare, national security, education etc.) and more.
Panos also made a reference to the critical US Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which enabled universities, nonprofit research institutions, and small businesses to own, patent, and commercialize inventions developed under federally funded research programs within their organizations. He also said, "One proven way to speed up the invention process is to encourage groups of creative thinkers to work together (innovation clusters) in a certain field or region,where the government could invest in such private businesses.
He ended his presentation by recommending a balanced approach across the energy sector; given the continuing dependency on hydrocarbons - which realistically is not expected to change in the next decades - innovation strategies should span from both the conventional sources of energy (there is much room for optimization) to renewables and other Clean Tech initiatives.
