One-liner: an open-innovation program run jointly by Valencia Activa + AVAESEN that plugs cleantech startups directly into Valencian corporate demand and gives international cleantech founders a free soft-landing route into the region — access and market-entry, not a grant.
What a founder gets
- Direct corporate open-innovation matchmaking: connects cleantech startups with Valencian corporates looking for solutions — the "first customer" problem solved via structured introductions rather than cold outreach.
- Soft-landing for international founders: practical, free support to relocate/establish cleantech operations in Valencia — orientation, introductions, and local navigation, aimed specifically at founders coming from outside the region.
- Access to AVAESEN's cluster ecosystem "for free": because it's delivered through AVAESEN (160+ member companies, €4.5B combined turnover, 20th anniversary in 2026), participants get a foothold in Spain's leading cleantech cluster network without needing full paid membership.
- Cost is free — this sits squarely in the "access is at least as valuable as funding" category the wiki prioritizes: no equity, no fees, pure market-access and mentoring.
Who it's for
- Cleantech startups at seed/early/growth stage — both Valencia-local teams wanting corporate pilots and international cleantech founders wanting a soft-landing into the Comunitat Valenciana market.
- Best fit for teams that already have a working solution and need corporate validation or a first paying reference customer, not pure idea-stage teams.
How to engage
- Entry point: via AVAESEN (www.avaesen.es) or Valencia Activa — the program is delivered jointly, so either channel should route to it; AVAESEN contact: +34 961 06 25 51 · info@avaesen.es · Calle Xàtiva, 15-16A, 46002 Valencia.
- No dedicated CleanConnect microsite was found in the 2026-07-02 scrape (avaesen.es homepage only) — confirm whether CleanConnect has its own application form or runs purely through AVAESEN membership/outreach channels. #status/verify
- Pairs well with AVAESEN's other cleantech corporate-challenge mechanism, AVAESEN LLAMP 3i, for startups wanting both acceleration and corporate access.
Key facts
- Delivery model: hybrid public–private — Valencia Activa (municipal) + AVAESEN (private cleantech cluster association) co-run the program (
ownership: hybrid). - Parent cluster scale: AVAESEN — Spain's leading cleantech/smart-cities cluster ecosystem — has 160+ associated companies, €4.5B combined turnover, 7,500 employees, and is the only Spanish energy association awarded by the European Cluster Excellence Initiative; director Bianca Dragomir is EU Cluster Manager of the Year. This is the institutional weight CleanConnect draws its corporate network from.
- Category: listed in the wiki's non-financial-support research as one of the flagship "Internationalization & Soft-Landing" mechanisms alongside Valencia International Alliance and IVACE Becas Exterior, and doubles as a "Public Procurement & Corporate Access" route (open-innovation matchmaking).
- No separately published budget, staff count, or participant-numbers were found in the raw corpus for CleanConnect specifically (as distinct from AVAESEN's overall figures) — treat program-level metrics as unverified. #status/verify
- Edition history and current dormancy (checked 2026-07-05): confirmed editions found are the 2nd edition (2022) — 4 corporates (Obremo/Grupo Gimeno, Eiffage Energía, Hidraqua, Fundación Valenciaports), 5 startups, 7 challenges, application deadline 18 July 2022 — and a 2023 edition referenced via an Opentop blog post ("CO2 absorption in ports" challenge, deadline 1 Oct 2023). No 2024, 2025, or 2026 edition was found in a live-site check or targeted search as of 2026-07-05, despite the program still being listed as an ongoing initiative on greenovators.es (AVAESEN's cleantech-innovation sub-hub). Status downgraded from
activetorecurringto reflect "between editions, no confirmed live call" rather than a currently-open program — re-verify closer to any AVAESEN/Valencia Activa autumn programming announcement. - The program is cross-linked to the ports sector too — a 2023 CleanConnect VLC challenge ("CO2 absorption in ports") ran through Opentop's blog, showing the program's corporate-challenge pool isn't limited to AVAESEN's own membership.
Relations
- Run by: AVAESEN
- Partners with: Valencia Activa
- Partners with: Opentop
- See also: AVAESEN LLAMP 3i
- See also: Cleantech (niche)
- See also: Testbeds (support)