IlluminationLAB to power energy focused startup innovation
by Startacus Admin
American Electric Power (AEP) in partnership with innovation specialist L Marks, has launched IlluminationLAB which will include a bootcamp, energy summit, and 10-week proof of concept program to co-create innovative energy products and services. If that introduction sparked your interest, read on to find out more.
Offering startups and entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain behind the scenes access to one of the largest electric utilities in the US, IlluminationLAB will accelerate startups within AEP by collaborating on use cases and trialing products at scale.
Based at the American Electric Power HQ in Columbus, Ohio, USA, the IlluminationLAB team are particularly interested in applications related to renewable energy 
sources, smart connected devices, customer engagement, predictive analytics and virtual assessments, but are also interested in innovative products and services that could be applied to the energy industry.
Run in collaboration with L Marks, a leading advisor in applied innovation and experienced investor in early-stage technologies, the IlluminationLAB program consists of:
- Bootcamp where 20 teams will work with AEP leaders to define a use case for potential collaboration.
- An AEP wide internal Pitch Day.
- Exposure at the Illumination Energy Summit.
- And, if then selected, the opportunity to work with AEP mentors for 10 weeks developing a proof of concept.
Co-located at AEP offices in Columbus, Ohio, all companies accepted onto the 10-week program will be provided with first-class mentorship, workspace in a state of the art co-working space, access to data and insights from leading subject matter experts in the energy sector, the ability to test their products/services in live customer environments, and the possibility of investment at the end of the programme.
American Electric Power will focus on four key innovation challenges:
- Customer Experience
- Grid Optimization
- Efficiency, Operations & Maintenance
- Electric mobility and electrification
For the full areas of interest breakdown - click here.
American Electric Power is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to their customers, with AEP’s 
approximately 18,000 employees operating and maintaining the US’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states.
If that sounds like a corporation you’d love to collaborate with - be quick, applications to apply to IlluminationLAB close on April 7th, 2019.
For all the key details, FAQs and to then apply, visit aepilluminationlab.com
Best of luck!
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Published on: 5th March 2019
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