Milton Keynes Council selects 10 SMEs for innovation programme to support green recovery and local resilience

Ten innovative SMEs have been selected for the new Milton Keynes Accelerator; a six-month programme sponsored by Milton Keynes Council and powered by Connected Places Catapult. The programme is designed to tackle local and regional challenges, sourcing and selecting a cohort of disruptive SMEs to test and scale new technologies, whilst developing new opportunities for Milton Keynes and surrounding areas and positively impacting the local economy. 

The SMEs will receive support tailored to their requirements. This will include advice and guidance on investment readiness, technology and product development, alongside introductions to local stakeholders and potential customers. The aim is to accelerate time to market through technology trials which will utilise Milton Keynes’ state of the art 5G testbed, as well as roads and other public spaces which the Council will also consider making available to the SMEs.  

Activities will be delivered by a consortium of industry and delivery partners led by Connected Places Catapult. The consortium includes delivery partner True Altitude and industry partners Amey, Centre MK, Socius Group and Elisa among others.  

The SMEs selected for the programme will support Milton Keynes' ambitious commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030 and address challenges related to sustainable mobility, renewable energy and air quality, as well as infrastructure resilience and community engagement. They are as follows:

• Active Orbit - Getting people more active by rewarding them for walking / cycling. 
• Dock Lock Charge - Using our universal solution for docking and charging E-bikes and E-Scooters, we work on designing and implementing the right Micromobility strategy for our clients. 
• Karfu - Karfu is an online platform that helps consumers save money and uncover the financial and environmental costs of their mobility choices, beyond private car ownership, by showcasing more sustainable alternatives. 
• Kerbo Charge - Kerbo Charge solves the problem of how to charge your electric car at home if you don’t have access to off-street parking. 
• Pluvo - Pluvo develops and deploys solutions that actively monitor and remove airborne pollutants from the built environment at scale, helping our partners create healthier and safer spaces to breath in. 
• Skenario Labs - Use huge property and financial datasets to help local authorities, property owners, managers, investors and insurers make more responsible decisions around investment and sustainability for their portfolios. 
• Step-Hear - Step-Hear is an accurate wayfinding system for people with blindness or visual impairment, providing also assistance by IoT for people with disabilities and a smart interactive system for public transportation. 
• The Future Fox - Community engagement and insight for citizen-led places. 
• Urban Tide – Help cities monitor transport emissions and improve cycling routes and enable energy companies to share data to reduce fuel poverty and energy use. They do this with uSmart, our AI innovation platform and their unique AI portfolio. 
• Othership - Othership gives the freedom to work how and where you want. The perfect workspace solution, tailored to you and your business. 

“Milton Keynes has been at the forefront of many innovations and has invested significantly in the development of a sustainable economy, which is why we are thrilled to have partnered with the Council once again to launch this brand-new accelerator. We look forward to supporting the SMEs on the programme and seeing how their disruptive technologies are tested and implemented in the city in the coming months.”

Alex Weedon, Executive Director SME Development u0026amp; Academic Engagement, Connected Places Catapult

“We’re delighted to see some great businesses on the programme which will help everyone in MK learn invaluable lessons through real-time testing. They will have access to industry experts who will take their vision and help them turn it into reality. We’ve got big hopes for the Accelerator and expect these business to take major strides as we work together towards making our city even greener and better connected.”

Cllr Pete Marland, Leader of MK Council