It's Competition Time With EIT BoostUp - Irish Edition
BoostUp is an EIT Manufacturing start-up competition format and has fostered business creation in manufacturing across Europe since 2020. It’s the first time that the competition comes to Ireland specifically focused on the the Irish manufacturing industry. It feels like yesterday that Steph Locke and I made it to the final of Boostup 2020 to pitch solutions to the Eroski challenge.
This time we are here to support other scaleups who will pitch their solutions to solve some of the challenges faced by manufacturing companies. Finalists include: Mersus Technologies, Robotics and Drives, DataMinfo, Blynksolve, Infraprint Technologies, Xpanse AICash prizes and lots of EIT support to scale are up for grabs! We look forward to a good competition. It’s also a good excuse to visit the Irish Manufacturing Research centre where the event will be held and to meet with our own EIT project partners.
We also look forward to learning from digital lighthouse manufacturing companies and how collaboration with EIT Manufacturing has created windows of opportunity to progress their green and digital transition. Among them Tony Woods CEO Midland Steel and Brian Cooney MD of KUKA Ireland who will speak about our Greener Steel project.
More info
EIT Manufacturing
IMR
ATIM
FAQs
What does BoostUp represent for manufacturing startups?
BoostUp is not a typical startup competition. It is specifically designed for manufacturing technology companies — the kind that are building solutions to real operational problems rather than consumer apps or social platforms. The connection to EIT Manufacturing, with its network of manufacturers, research institutions, and investors across Europe, means that winning or reaching the finals delivers not just prize money but access to the European manufacturing ecosystem.
The Irish edition of BoostUp 2023 was particularly significant for Nightingale HQ. Having competed in BoostUp 2020, where Steph Locke and Ruth Kearney reached the finals, the company had a direct understanding of what the competition demands and what success in it represents. In 2023, Nightingale HQ’s role shifted from competitor to participant-supporter — reflecting the maturity and standing the company had achieved in the European manufacturing technology community.
What is the Greener Steel project connection?
The event was also an opportunity for Tony Woods, CEO of Midland Steel, and Brian Cooney, MD of KUKA Ireland, to present on the Greener Steel project — the EU and UK funded research partnership in which Nightingale HQ is a key technology partner. This project, formally titled “Re-imagining Design and Planning for Greener Reinforcement Steel Manufacturing (DPGSM)”, represents GoSmarter’s most ambitious collaboration and its most direct contribution to the sustainability agenda in steel manufacturing.
Presenting this work at a manufacturing competition event, alongside technology startups competing for support to scale their own solutions, reflects the cross-pollination of ideas and networks that makes events like BoostUp valuable beyond the competition itself.