Parity Platform wins 1st prize at GO 4.0 GREEN Hackathon
GO 4.0 Green Hackathon ,organized by the Hellenic Ministry for Energy and Environment and Crowdpolicy, brought together 28 teams from start-up companies, research centers and universities. The teams were challenged to develop applications that contribute to the mitigation of pressing environmental and climate related issues. Parity Platform won the 1st prize after an intense weekend of coding and presentation sessions.
Parity Platform team developed a web application that enables drivers of electric cars to charge their car batteries in different charging locations using a single payment system.
The application also encourages drivers to charge their car batteries using energy from Renewable Energy Sources. When there is surplus energy from Wind Farms and solar parks, the price per charge decreases and electric car drivers receive a notification in their phone prompting them that : “Charging cost is significantly lower for the next x hours”
To showcase the web application to the judges of the competition, the team assembled a mini-simulator hardware of an actual an charging station.
The hardware featured an NFC Reader, a Start Charge Button, a Stop Charge button and was connected to the Internet. The app communicated with the hardware using OCPP protocol, which is used by the largest charging station manufacturers like Schneider Electric, EVBox, Deger and Vattenfall.
The driver scans his NFC card on the hardware, initiates and completes the charge. After he charged his car battery, a payment is automatically transferred from his online wallet to the owner of the charging station via the app.
The event took place in Innovathens Venue and attracted more than 300 participants from Start-ups, research centers and universities. Executives from energy companies also attended and supported the teams with technical and business advice. Electric mobility expert Thanos Zarogiannis, payment systems expert Damianos Tsigkanos and legal expert from the Ministry of Energy Dimitris Arvanitis offered guidance to Parity Platform team during the two days of the hackathon.
Parity Platform started as project team in 2018 during Greentech Challenge competition organized by Environmental and Sustainability Economics Unit of National Technical University of Athens, which is led by General Secretary of the Ministry for Energy Dr. Konstantinos Aravossis and now is an incorporated company. It has developed a digital platform that connects retail investors, family offices and small funds with vetted Renewable Energy Projects. The company has received financial support from The People’s Trust and EIT Climate KIC and participates in Be finnovative 3.0, a program implemented by National Bank of Greece.
