Tallinnovation winning projects contribute to a cleaner environment

The fifth annual Tallinnovation innovation competition awarded top honors this year to projects including cargo bikes, a solar panel visualization solution for the city’s digital twin, and a data exchange platform for urban infrastructure development.

This year’s innovation competition received 22 applications. Out of these, seven companies were selected for rapid presentations. The jury decided to support the testing of three solutions in urban space with a total of 55,000 euros.

The winners are VOK Bikes’ full-service model for cargo bikes (25,000 euros), Digilogistika Keskus’ data exchange platform for urban infrastructure development (20,000 euros), Rexplorer’s solar panel visualization solution for Tallinn’s Digital Twin (10,000 euros). Other finalists who presented their solutions included Tarkvõrk, Traffest, GPO, and Spinnistart.

According to Tallinn’s Deputy Mayor and chair of the evaluation committee, Margot Roose, the diversity of the projects was particularly pleasing. “These three projects that were ultimately selected are truly forward-looking. Each of the chosen projects has the potential to contribute to creating a cleaner environment and a more technologically advanced city. We hope that as a result of the pilot projects, we will soon see broader adoption of these solutions,” said Roose.

The Tallinnovation competition, organized in collaboration with the city and the Tehnopol Science and Business Park, is now in its fifth year. With this year’s round, the competition has supported companies with a total of 355,000 euros.

According to Tehnopol CEO Agnes Roos, the works submitted to the competition reflected the innovation needs in the city’s key areas. “At Tehnopol, we work in the midst of innovation daily and take it for granted that solutions must be sustainable, convenient, and efficient. Organizing the competition at the city’s request gives companies a unique opportunity to test solutions on a larger scale, specifically in the urban environment of Tallinn, accelerating the arrival of innovation to businesses and city residents. The winning projects included exciting digital solutions, efficient data exchange, and the development of an environmentally friendly cargo transport service model,” said Roos. She added that organizing the innovation fund aligns with Tehnopol’s goal of supporting world-changing innovation and technology entrepreneurship.

The goal of the Tallinnovation innovation competition is to make city services and the environment more convenient for both residents and visitors. The competition supports collaboration between the city and technology companies and the use of innovative smart city hardware and software products in Tallinn.

Similar innovation competitions have been organized with Kohtla-Järve and Pärnu. This year, Tehnopol plans to launch an innovation competition in Pärnu and is in negotiations with other towns. More information can be found on the website innovatsioonifond.tehnopol.ee.