The future is built through sustainable innovation and collaboration.
This was the central message of the Grand Prix Innovation 2024, organized by the French-Italian Chamber of Commerce. Now in its third edition, the event has become a benchmark for innovative companies, scale-ups, accelerators, and institutions. At the heart of the discussions was the idea of how advanced technologies and collaborative models can accelerate the transition toward a more sustainable world.
The evening featured networking opportunities, on-stage speeches, and a Call for Startups highlighting the talent and ideas of six finalists. It also included five thematic corners where key players from various sectors—Healthtech & Life Sciences, Fintech, Aerospace, Energy & Smart City, and Lifestyle & Beauty Tech—shared their insights.
Be-Boost, represented by Marco Di Pilla, had the honor of moderating the “Energy & Smart City” panel, which included contributions from three industry leaders: Layla Pavone, Innovation and Digital Manager at the City of Milan; Stefano Di Persio, CEO of HPA High Performance Analytics; and Davide Dotti, Business Innovation Director at Edison. Together, they provided a unique exchange of perspectives to explore the current and future landscape of our cities.
Energy & Smart City: A Dialogue for the Future of Smart Cities
A Smart City is not just a technological hub; it’s an ecosystem that integrates data, artificial intelligence, and public-private collaboration to enhance urban living.
Stefano Di Persio, CEO of HPA High Performance Analytics, opened the discussion by sharing his experience bridging the gap between academia and industry. As the founder of a spin-off from the University of Verona, Di Persio emphasized the central role of data in making innovation scalable and impactful. “Collaboration means systematizing skills and technologies, transforming academic ideas into real-world solutions for SMEs,” he explained, citing projects that have demonstrated how public-private synergies can lead to tangible and lasting outcomes.
“Smart Cities cannot exist without Smart Citizens,” declared Layla Pavone, Innovation and Digital Manager at the City of Milan. She highlighted Milan’s long-standing commitment to a data-driven approach aimed at creating a more livable and participatory city. Her keynote focused on Milano Partecipa, a co-design platform that engages citizens and businesses in managing urban resources. This avant-garde model aims to build a digital, open, and secure urban ecosystem while promoting education and inclusion through intuitive dashboards, 3D predictive analytics, and initiatives like Cyber Secure City, a free platform raising awareness about digital security through accessible training.
Davide Dotti, Business Innovation Director at Edison S.p.A., brought the perspective of a major corporation, outlining how Edison supports sustainable innovation through testing labs for startups and SMEs. “Edison believes in the value of new technologies to develop a sustainable growth model. We don’t create technologies ourselves, but we integrate and validate them to accelerate adoption,” he explained. Dotti shared examples of projects in green gases and energy efficiency in next-generation buildings, emphasizing that Italy has the potential to lead in sustainable innovation. However, he stressed that collaboration and long-term investments must become integral to a system that cannot afford to lag behind.
A Conclusion That Marks a New Beginning
The roundtable demonstrated that sustainable innovation requires not just technology but also a shift in perspective—one that prioritizes people and aims to create lasting, meaningful impact.
In this context, Be-Boost develops practical tools and open-source software to support the adoption of sustainable practices by companies and institutions, acting as a project accelerator for the entire ecosystem.
Sustainability cannot be treated as an abstract concept or a box to check; it is a critical aspect for companies and institutions striving to thrive in the marketplace. Only when guided by sustainability can innovation become a driver of growth and a transformative force.
For Be-Boost, being part of this ecosystem means continuing to promote projects that combine innovation and sustainability in concrete and scalable ways. The Grand Prix Innovation 2024 was not just an opportunity for dialogue but a call to action for businesses and institutions to work together for a smarter and more sustainable future.