A solar panel cleaning solution scooped first place at the 2023 Young Enterprise Luxembourg project finals on 20 April.
Bright Cleaning was one eight finalists shortlisted from the 22 teams which developed mini companies as part of the 2022-2023 edition. The eight pitched in front of an expert panel at Tero River House where the judges announced the winners.
Originally from the Lycée des Arts et Métiers, Bright Cleaning is an autonomous device for solar panel cleaning that is activated when photovoltaics lose efficiency as a result of a build up of dirt.
The team explained that photovoltaics have an expected 25-year lifecycle. They lose efficiency when dust settles on the panels, however hiring professional cleaning services can be costly.
As a prize, the team is invited to attend Gen-e, Europe’s largest entrepreneurship event, taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 11-14 July. They will also receive eight hours of free coaching from Nyuko, and a marketing material package with Reka.
Second place was awarded to Honger a Méi (hunger and more), a proposed anti-waste application from students of the Hospitality School, connecting students with restaurants that have excess food they wish to sell at a lower cost. The initiative aims to help students balance budgets while eating a balanced diet, tackling waste and supporting the food and beverage industry.
Third place was awarded to De Lux Kebs, a high quality kebab restaurant using locally-sourced ingredients aimed at young diners, created by a team from the Ecole de commerce et de Gestion.
The Coup de Coeur prize went to Poseidon Hydrogen, a portable, 1.5k hydrogen generator aimed at campers and off-grid communities created by a team from the Lycee Technique Ettelbruck. Smaller than a shoebox, the box solution can help recharge a phone, power a light or be used with a camping stove, for instance. The team developed several prototypes.
Alumni Leadership Awards were meanwhile given to Paul from Bright Clean and Josiane of Light, a smart street lighting solution.
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The other entries included:
Portal Butler (from the Lycée Technique Ettelbruck) is a 360° navigation app to help people find their way around new buildings. The app could be used in large building and campus settings such as hospitals.
Shea (from the Ecole de commerce et gestion) is a platform for sharing and renting out useful objects such as electrical appliances, tools and more. Shea, a nod to the japanese expression for ‘sharing’ has as its overarching goal is to combat waste and excessive consumption. Rent, don’t buy, is its catchphrase.
Light, (Lycée Guillaume Kroll) sensors turn the lights on only when there are pedestrians and vehicles. It is pitched as both an ecological solution to tackle light pollution and economical one for lowering energy costs in municipalities. They believe they can make 40% savings in energy costs.
FIXIT (from Lycée des Arts et Métiers), a platform in four languages, bringing together a network of on-call engineers specialised in the repair of household appliances that can be contacted in the event of an emergency. FIXIT proposes to generate income through commission on the repairs carried out. Within a year they want to hire their own on-call maintenance workers to ensure the supply of skills.
Ivo Silva, of student-elder accommodation solution We Connect, the team that won the 2022 edition, gave a short speech at the prizegiving, praising the initiative and saying that the work was only now just beginning for the young entrepreneurs who received feedback from the programme. “Even if you win, you still have to question what you are doing. We took the time to examine the feedback on what to improve. The business model changed two or three times,” said Silva, adding: “It took us nearly one year to prepare our launch, covering things like the finances, marketing and forging partnerships. All of these things take time.”
See the full picture gallery of the Finale Young Enterprise Project 2023 here.
