Abingdon tech and manufacturing start-up Electrogenos crowned tech innovator

Published by

Nicky Godding

Electrogenos has been crowned as the South Central winner of KPMG’s annual UK Tech Innovator competition which shines a spotlight on the game changers and tech titans of tomorrow.

Electrogenos, which aims to reshape the hydrogen production industry with a unique manufacturing process that drastically cuts capex costs and reduces deployment time, using scalable soft-tooling techniques, was voted as the winner because of the potential impact of its technology in the green energy sector. Alfredo Saenger, the company’s COO will now go on to pitch at the competition’s UK final later this month.

Ten fast-growing businesses based in South Central went head-to-head at KPMG’s Reading office. Each pitched its vision to a panel of judges which included Emma Gibson (KPMG Reading Senior Office Partner), Erin Hallock (bp ventures Managing Partner), David Wrench (YFM Partner), Hugh Minnock (Investment Director at Foresight Group) and Nick Hawkins (KPMG Acceleris Director).

Looking ahead to the UK Tech Innovator Final, Alfredo Saenger, COO and Co-Founder of Electrogenos, said: “We're eagerly anticipating the opportunity to present our groundbreaking hydrogen production technology and connect with other thought leaders, investors, and potential partners. We hope our participation will not only highlight the significant strides we're making at Electrogenos but also spark further conversations around the role of innovation in combating climate change. Moreover, we're excited to learn from our fellow competitors and explore potential synergies.”

Emma Gibson, KPMG’s South Central Office Senior Partner said: “It was always going to difficult to choose one winner from ten fantastic finalists this year but we were really impressed by Electrogenos’ vision for reaching net zero.

“We’re very excited to support the continued growth of our tech innovators who are either hidden gems in our huge tech ecosystem or leading the way in disruption and innovative thinking. Huge congratulations go to Electrogenos.

“Over the last decade, we have seen our competition go from strength to strength as our tech ecosystems across the UK continue to mature, grow and attract many home-grown disruptors. Innovation is now firmly on the agenda of businesses and policy makers as a vital contributor to the health and wealth of our economy. This competition is a great platform to help profile, recognise and celebrate the outstanding technology being developed across South Central and the wider UK.”

Electrogenos and runner-up Lumai will be provided with entry to a bespoke version of KPMG’s Access programme for fast growth businesses, exclusive networking opportunities among industry experts, their peers and other tech innovators.

The Tech Innovator in the UK winner, and the winner in each of the other participating countries, will progress to the Global Tech Innovator final at Web Summit 2023, where they will compete on the global stage.

The nation-wide competition, which is celebrating its 10th year, has uncovered British tech innovators including What3Words, SafetoNet, FIDOTech and 2022 winner HiiROC who went on to win the global final during Web Summit. Having shone a light on a host of tech success stories from across the country, the competition is also now in its third year of going global andhas expanded to include technology innovators competing across over 20 countries representing major regions of the world

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.