Frequently Asked Questions

Start-ups and small businesses, made up of less than 30 people that are developing innovative projects answering a general issue (i.e. Promoting social inclusion or fighting against global warning), in the fields of Zero Carbon Territories, Resilient Infrastructures, and Sustainable Lifestyle.

IF you are submitting your application for the Special award for Sport & Innovation, the innovative project should answer a general issue linked to sports.

These organisations must be based in Europe.

Candidate companies must be independent of a group of more than 500 employees and must have filed their articles of incorporation or be committed to doing so before the 15th April2020. They must also not have raised more than 2 million euros.

Candidates should have a prototype, a model, or a product to exhibit in the end of 2020, during the Awards ceremony.

IF your solution requires clinical tests, they must have started before 31st December 2020.

For more information, consult the Terms & Conditions.

Yes, provided your project fulfils all eligibility criteria and you are committed to registering your company before the 15th April 2020.

Yes, provided the project complies with the specific criteria for the EDF Pulse Start-up Awards or the Special Award for Sport & Innovation you may find in the Terms and conditions.

• The French editions are: Hauts-de-France, Normandie, Rhône-Alpes Auvergne, Occitanie, PACA, Grand Est.
• The European editions are: EDF Energy Pulse Innovation Challenge (UK) and Edison Pulse (Italia).

Europe’s natural borders are the limits; that is to say the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

The following countries are eligible: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vatican.

A company can apply with different projects as long as these projects are distinct and fulfil eligibility criteria. To submit several projects, you have to complete the corresponding number of applications.

No, a project can only be submitted in one category. However, the Organiser has the right to reclassify a project in another category if deemed necessary.

Exception: you may apply in both one category and submit your application for the Special Award for Sport & Innovation. One application is enough for one category + the Special Award.

The EDF Pulse start-up Awards brings substantial support to each winners: a communication campaign to boost their brand awareness and up to 80,000€ to invest and develop their business. Finalists and winners alike will be invited to present their projects in Public Relations events organised or supported by EDF.

For example, previous winners and finalists have taken part in: Vivatech, L’échappée volée, Le Monde Festival, Festival de la Communication Santé, le Salon des Maires, le Forum R&D d’EDF, les Electric Days (EDF’s proprietary event), etc.

The winner of the Special award for Sport & Innovation will be awarded up to 30,000€, as well as a communication campaign. They will also be put in contact with the Paris 2024 Organisation Committee.

Yes, a project can be a winner selected by a Grand jury (internal and external personnalities) for the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Awards, as well as the Audience Award winner (voted as such by the general public following a voting campaign).

A project can also be awarded both the Special Award for Sport & Innovation and one of the EDF Pulse start-up Awards.

Each member of the candidate teams must authorize, free of charge, the Organiser to photograph, film, record and exploit his image, his voice, and his words.

The elements provided in the application are confidential. However, the pitch of the project may be used for communication purposes on all types of media.

The authorisation of exploitation of image is valid 5 years as from the date of the application.

Read more in the Terms and Conditions.

Entering the EDF PULSE START-UP AWARDS (Special Award for Innovation & Sport included) requires the full and unreserved acceptance of the full Terms and Conditions.

These rules constitute a contract between the Organiser and the Project promoter, and a commitment to guarantee the accuracy of the information provided. The Organiser reserves the right to exclude any application file in which provided information proves to be false. The project and the team will also be excluded in case of attempted fraud.

The candidate must allow the Organiser to communicate to the general public the title of the project and the following elements provided in the application file: name of the project and name of the organisation, domiciled country, pitch of the project, photos of the project and the team, video presentation of the project, logo, link to the Organisation’s website or social media. The Candidate must also authorise the Organiser to use images attached to the project, particularly the image of the candidates.

More information in the Terms & Conditions.

The public votes will open in Autumn 2020. Dates will be specified later

All internet-users can vote.

Please make sure you are using the following browsers:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11+
• Google Chrome (v.37+),
• Mozilla Firefox (v.32+),
• Apple Safari 5.1.7.+
• Opera (v.24+).

Funds can be raised by self-financing, love money, crowdfunding (on platforms like Kickstarter, KissKissBankBank, Ulule, WiSEED, etc.), business angels, investment fund, public subsidies (ANR, BPI, SATT, Regional Council, etc.), etc.

The presentation video is not compulsory.

The pitch video should be 1 minute long and should showcase your founder or someone in the team AND your innovation. The provided URL can link to a private, non-listed, or private video on YouTube.

You can add relevant one additional document to complete the presentation of your project. PDF document only.

Once you have clicked on “Submit my application”, at the end of the application form, your file is submitted. A pop-up message appears and you can download your application (pdf). You will also receive an e-mail to confirm the reception of your application by the Organiser.

One of the members of the start-up will be mandatory 3 times during the contest. Find out more in the Terms & Conditions.

The Bootcamp is an intensive coaching session to improve your pitch presentation in front of the Grand Jury.

Find out more in the Terms & Conditions.

This pitch is 5-minute long with 10 minutes of Q&A.

The EDF Pulse start-up Awards ceremony will be held in the end of 2020. Find out more in the Terms & Conditions.