Suddenly, without expecting it because it is not an award you can apply for, one day I received a phone call telling me that I was the winner,” explains Elena Bou Alameda, still elated hours after having gone to Munich to collect the award. Sustainability Award 2023, on November 9. This Burgos native who has spent most of her professional career in Barcelona is the first person to whom the Nobel Sustainability Trust foundation and the Technical University of Munich have awarded in the category Outstanding research and development in the field of energy.
Nothing is free. Bou has been recognized for her 13 years of experience contributing to the promotion of startups in the energy sector from the EIT InnoEnergy business accelerator. “There are many scientists researching in this field, but instead of one researcher they have chosen to reward the efforts of entrepreneurs and startups,” highlights the organization's innovation director.
As a European Doctor in Business Administration and Management, Elena Bou was one of the co-founders of EIT InnoEnergy. “At the beginning we had to face a lot of skepticism, but now investing in innovation and helping the startup ecosystem is more normalized,” she acknowledges. EIT InnoEnergy is a company funded, in part, by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to promote sustainable energy development in Europe. “We support companies that are in very early stages with the ultimate goal of accelerating the energy transition and achieving a much more sustainable world,” explains the protagonist.
It is enough to talk to Bou for a few minutes to realize that he is enthusiastic about his work: “We help entrepreneurs with ideas, with the desire to change the world. This fills you with energy every morning. When they ask me why I'm always smiling, I tell them 'how can I not smile!'" Since the creation of EIT InnoEnergy, around 500 companies have passed through the accelerator. “It has been a long road, but super exciting and enriching; It fills you with pride on a personal level,” says the only co-founder who stayed to work in the organization.
When asked which startups she remembers most fondly, the manager refuses to answer: “It's like with children, you can't say which one you love the most.” Bou does highlight the case of CorPower Ocean, a company promoted by a Swedish doctor that has managed to produce, on a commercial scale, electricity from sea waves.
The protagonist combines her work at EIT InnoEnergy with teaching and research. She is a professor in the Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences at the Esade business school since 1998. On the other hand, she has been coordinator of European research projects (Esprit) for the development of indicator systems based on the total quality. Currently, she is a member and coordinator of the Esade Learning, Knowledge and Organization Group.
“Working at EIT InnonEnergy requires a lot of effort and time and I have had to reduce classes and my work as a researcher,” Bou acknowledges. It also involves traveling a lot throughout Europe and Boston (the city where the accelerator has a headquarters). The director, who is currently based in Madrid, combines her comings and goings with motherhood. “You can have a family and a full professional career,” she says.
Elena Bou went to collect the award with her two daughters. “I wanted to convey to them that you can dream and achieve what you set your mind to,” she says. In her speech, the winner thanked her family: “I also have the team at home and not only at EIT InnoEnergy because without her support none of this would be possible,” she concludes.
