HD Hyundai Electric announced that it has finally selected nine startups for the first cohort of its open innovation program “PowerUp HDE.”

“PowerUp HDE” is a program established by HD Hyundai Electric to identify and nurture startups that can respond to rising power demand and changes in the industrial environment. It is jointly operated by deep-tech accelerator Bluepoint Partners and global open innovation platform Plug and Play.

A total of 113 teams applied for the recruitment of domestic teams for the first cohort, recording a competition rate of 19:1. Under the slogan, “Hey, have you tried it? Future energy innovation where ideas become reality!”, the program focused on selecting startups with technological innovation potential in core areas of the future power industry, such as next-generation power, eco-friendly energy and digital transformation.

The selection of overseas teams for the first cohort targeted global energy startups seeking to conduct PoC (Proof of Concept) projects and sign partnerships with HD Hyundai Electric. HD Hyundai Electric executives and working-level staff attended the Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit in June, where they identified promising startups through local tech companies’ pitching sessions and one-on-one meetings. Subsequently, the two companies conducted a comprehensive review at the Silicon Valley office, assessing global PoC potential, technological fit and business connectivity, and ultimately selected three overseas startups.

The final selected teams are nine companies in total: ▲ Easy Korea, a manufacturer of edge current sensors for predictive maintenance of electrical accidents ▲ Poel, a developer of passive cooling products based on radiative cooling technology ▲ Jerk, a company specializing in thermal management of power equipment using radiative-cooling paint ▲ SCS, a provider of AI-controlled thermal management systems for batteries and data centers ▲ Everinders, a developer of sodium-ion batteries/ESS and room-temperature bonding solutions for electrical steel plates ▲ B GARAGE, a provider of inventory management and facility inspection solutions using autonomous drones ▲ XL Batteries (United States), a company developing low-cost, high-stability organic-electrolyte-based flow battery technology ▲ Novity (United States), a provider of AI·IoT-based predictive maintenance solutions for industrial equipment ▲ IONATE (United Kingdom), a company offering secondary-side control technology for transformers linked to power conversion devices.

The selected companies will be provided with an accelerating program centered on PoC (demonstration) for approximately five months. Together with a dedicated task force composed of HD Hyundai Electric working-level staff, they will design and conduct demonstrations in real business environments and receive various forms of support, including development cost assistance, access to in-house engineering infrastructure such as testbeds and reliability centers, joint development opportunities, follow-on investment review and linkage to long-term partnerships.

Bluepoint Partners will oversee the entire process from recruitment and selection of domestic startups to accelerating and performance sharing. In cooperation with HD Hyundai Electric staff, it plans to define specific challenges in the power industry, design and conduct PoCs, and support commercialization linkage and follow-on investment reviews based on the demonstration results.

Plug and Play, leveraging its global network of innovative companies and investors, will identify promising overseas energy and power startups and support local technology verification and assessment of PoC linkage potential. Through this, it will be responsible for strengthening HD Hyundai Electric’s global cooperation strategy.

Kim Young-ki, President and CEO of HD Hyundai Electric, stated, “In a rapidly changing power industry environment, genuine challenges and innovation are essential,” adding, “The company will actively support the realization of startups’ creative ideas and technologies in industrial settings.”

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