Innovation awards

1. What are the ENERGAÏA Innovation Awards?

The EnerGaïa Innovation Awards are a competition to promote innovative French and international companies in the renewable energy sector. They highlight the latest innovations and companies in the sector, rewarding the best new products and technological developments in the renewable energies sector. The EnerGaïa Innovation Awards are a unique opportunity for exhibiting companies to showcase their uniqueness, know-how and skills, thanks to their innovative, cross-disciplinary categories.

2. who can enter?

All exhibitors and co-exhibitors at the EnerGaïa 2025 Forum with a product, service or business initiative less than two years old that marks a significant advance in its sector.

Take part in the 2nd Innovation Awards!

Application deadline: Friday, September 12, 2025, 12:00 pm

3. Categories, descriptions and evaluation criteria

For the 4 categories, the selection committee and jury will assess the genuinely innovative nature of the proposed solution or service.

International

What is the global development capacity of the solution or service developed? To what extent has your solution or service been designed for international deployment, taking into account the constraints of standards and regulations, environmental emergencies and opportunities, financing constraints and opportunities, and appropriate business models? You will demonstrate this international dimension in the design, implementation and/or marketing of your innovation.

Deployability

How quick and easy is it to implement the solution and/or service developed? How have you been innovative in devising technological, service and governance solutions that speed up the implementation of your solution, where other solutions may take more time and resources? You will set out the factual arguments that demonstrate the real gains in ease and speed of implementation compared to pre-invention implementation of your solution.

Ecosystem

What dynamics have you established in collaboration with local players and/or industries (other companies, research centers, universities, incubators, principals, etc.) jointly involved in developing and/or exploiting innovation alongside you? How is this approach and/or governance and/or financing and/or the nature of these partners innovative? You will detail the collaborative actions implemented and their concrete results.

Circularity

How can your innovation save resources? What recycling and reuse measures does your innovation enable, or have you adopted to promote it? How is your innovation leading to significant progress in the circular economy? You’ll use factual comparisons from before (without this solution) and after (following the implementation of this solution). You will provide specific indicators and measures to concretely assess your performance in this area.

4. Why take part?

By taking part, you benefit from unique visibility before, during and after the Forum, with all EnerGaïa visitors, buyers and decision-makers from the private and public sectors, journalists and expert influencers:

The nominees will be announced at a press conference in Paris in autumn 2025.
A dedicated exhibition during the two days of the Forum.
Presence in the show press kit, a specific press release, a dedicated page on the EnerGaïa website and mobile application.
A unique“live pitch” conference at the Forum, on the morning of Thursday December 11. A unique opportunity to present your innovation to a prestigious panel of judges, as well as to the public of professionals in attendance.
The winners will be announced and presented with their trophies at an awards ceremony, followed by a cocktail reception on Thursday, December 11.
A specific communication kit and dedicated signage at the show.
A trophy with a unique design, eco-designed and local.
A prize to reward the winners for their participation in EnerGaïa 2026.

One winner will be awarded in each category.
From among the 12 nominated projects, Région Occitanie will award its “Coup de cœur” prize.

5. The Selection Committee

The role of the EnerGaïa Innovation Awards selection committee is to study all the applications received and select three nominees per category according to a set of predefined criteria. It is made up of the Forum’s industry, media, institutional and regional partners. The 2025 selection committee is currently being put together.

In 2024 it was made up of :

Amel ABBASSI GUENDOUZ – Head of innovation and energy transition at AD OCC
Thierry BAIG – Deputy Regional Director at ADEME Occitanie
Alexis BAUTZMANN – Chairman of Areion Group and CONSILDE MEDIA GROUP, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Centre d’Analyse et de Prévision des Risques Internationaux (CAPRI), Doctor of Geographical Sciences / Lecturer at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and the Sorbonne.
Caroline GIGNON – ENERGAIA Forum Manager
Isabelle GUICHARD – General Manager at DERBI Cluster
Émilie VIDAL – Regional Director, Occitanie Est, BPIFRANCE
Raphaëlle VIENOT – Deputy General Manager at AREC Occitanie

6. the Jury

The role of the jury is to choose the winner of each category from among the nominees selected by the Selection Committee. It evaluates each innovation according to a grid of predefined criteria, complemented by a live pitch and discussion session on Thursday December 11, during the Forum. It includes representatives from academic research, public and private markets, local authorities and professional organizations. The 2025 jury is currently being assembled.

In 2024 it was made up of :

Cécile CHAIGNEAU, Journalist, La Tribune
Pascale COURCELLE, Director of Real Estate, Energy and Environment Financing, BPIFRANCE
André JOFFRE, Chairman of TECSOL and Pôle DERBI, Vice-Chairman Emeritus ofEnerplan, Founder and Chairman of Qualit’EnR, Vice-Chairman Industry of the Pyrénées-Orientales Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ingrid NAPPI, economist, Professor at theÉcole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. Holder of the Chair in Urban Ecological Transition Economics at theInstitut Louis Bachelier.
The Occitanie Region

7. Live Pitch

The final evaluation of the nominees takes the form of a “live pitch” session on the second day of the Forum. Each candidate will have a maximum of two minutes and three slides to present his or her candidacy to the members of the Jury in a public “live pitch”. The Jury will then be able to exchange views with each of the nominees in public. Following presentation of the three nominees in each of the four categories, the jury will retire in camera for deliberation. The results will be announced the same day at an awards ceremony on Thursday morning, December 11.

8. Key dates for your participation 2025

Wednesday April 2: Opening of the registration platform.
Friday September 12 at 12:00 pm: Closing date for registration and submission of digital files.
Tuesday September 23: selection committee deliberation meeting.
Wednesday October 15: EnerGaïa press conference in PARIS and announcement of the nominees for the second Innovation Awards.
Weeks from November 17 to 28: Live pitch preparation/coaching webinar for nominees.
Thursday, December 11 :
9:30 am – 11:00 am: live pitch sessions
11:00 – 12:00: Jury deliberation behind closed doors
12:15 pm: Awards ceremony and cocktail reception.

If you would like more information about the Innovation Awards, please contact your sales manager.

9. How to register?

Quick and easy application submission on the dedicated platform. As a reminder, this competition is reserved exclusively for EnerGaïa Forum exhibitors. Your file must include the following information:

A quick and easy online information form (available from April 2).
A 15-line presentation explaining the 3 reasons why you think your solution, service or company deserves to win an EnerGaïa Innovation Award.
For solutions and services that require it: complete technical documentation, or a full description of the service, in French and/or English, including, for example, the operating principle, distinctive features, user benefits, technical, environmental and economic benefits, KPIs, etc.
Visual quality of the product, material or service.
Your company’s HD logo.

10. Winnings

For the 12 nominated finalists

Announcement of their appointment in a press release prior to the show and in the show press kit. Announcement on website, social networks and e-mailing of the EnerGaïa Forum.
Prominence in a dedicated exhibition during the 2 days of the show.
A pitch presentation announced in the official Forum program.
A dossier describing the innovation and the company is sent to all members of the jury.
Use of the ” Nominated for the 2024 Innovation Awards ” badge in your communications.
Invitation to the post-awards networking cocktail.
Post-show: presence on the press release, website and social networks.

In addition, for the 5 winners

A reward for their participation in EnerGaïa 2026.
Use the ” Winner of the Trophées de l’innovation 2025 ” badge in your communications.
Targeted press relations for the EnerGaïa Forum (press release, publication of winners on website, etc.).