The second largest system integrator in the country, King ICT, boasts 500 employees and as much as 90 percent of its revenue is generated right here on the Croatian market.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of December, 2019, Croatia's King ICT plans to round off the year 2019 with an incredible one billion kuna in revenue and more than 500 employees under its belt. This will make it the fourth IT company in all of Croatia with revenue above the more than impressive aforementioned amount.

According to the latest data, for 2018, Croatian IT billionaire companies are led, globally, by Infobip with 3.24 billion kuna in revenue. This is followed by the M SAN Group with 1.94 billion kuna and Ericsson Nikola Tesla with 1.42 billion kuna.

"We're entering 2020 with 500 employees, and we're proud to say that 2019 was the most successful year in King ICT's history, with estimated consolidated revenues of more than one billion kuna," stated Plamenko Barišić, CEO of King ICT.

Back in 2016, the company experienced accelerated growth. At the time, it had revenues of 554.7 million kuna and was the second largest system integrator in the country, behind Combis within Croatian Telecom (Hrvatski Telekom). Combis retained the lead a year later, but then things changed.

King ICT reached 625.8m kuna back in 2017, surpassing Combis last year and exceeding an impressive 100m kuna for the very first time. In 2018, it had revenue of 816.9 million kuna. Barišić expects King ICT to continue growing strongly.

King ICT and Combis are the only major system integrators focused significantly on the Croatian market, whose private and public sectors are thirsty for high-quality IT support and development. King ICT generates 90 percent of its revenue in Croatia while many other domestic IT companies have focused solely on exports in recent years.

Some of King ICT's biggest projects this year in the Republic of Croatia include the introduction of SAP in HEP ​​Gas, HAC, Crodux and Nova TV, the introduction of asset management systems in HZ infrastructure, the development of an unmanned aerial vehicle for the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) in cooperation with Ericsson NT, with whom they're also working to further computerise the 112 system.

The Ministry of Agriculture is introducing a system for state land management and, with Fina, an e-Fee system. King ICT is expanding to the west as well.

"King ICT has signed two contracts with NATO's Communications and Information Agency this year and, after the introduction of IT network equipment in the Netherlands, we'll introduce a high-bandwidth network and communication infrastructure solutions at the NCIA site in The Hague," Barišić said, adding that opportunities for similar export deals in the banking sector are also foreseen.

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This unique system from Croatia speaks Croatian and its possibilities can also be applied in tourism, trade, the hospitality industry, and even further. Meet Barica.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 6th of December, 2019, a lot of physical work and skills in assembling components and an enormous mental effort with the application of expert knowledge led to Barica. Or - as it was born - B.A.R.I.C.A.

In the continental Croatian town of Varaždin, more specifically at the Faculty of Organisation and Informatics (FOI), Barica was ''baptised'' as artificial intelligence by the ''father'' Prof. Dr. Markus Schatten from FOI, and the "mother", former student Tajana Šokec.

The entire team of scientists and students within AILab at FOI is also responsible for Barica coming into the world. The ''being'' in question has a name which signifies something in English: Beautiful ARtificial Intelligence Cognitive Agent (the acronym B.A.R.I.C.A., or Barica as it's informally known). It is a cognitive artificial intelligence agent who currently resides in the aforementioned Varaždin faculty's hall, where it informs students and visitors about professors, schedules and more.

''The ''culprit'' responsible for the creation of the system is Tomislav Kotnik, editor-in-chief of Vidi magazine, who asked me to give a lecture on artificial intelligence at the BIG3 conference. He asked me if I could use some attractive avatar/chat bot/artificial intelligence. After searching for solutions that were not satisfactory, I decided to implement my own artificial intelligence, which will speak to me in Croatian during a lecture.

One sleepless weekend later, the first version of Barica was born. I showed the system to my colleagues and students and it aroused great interest from them. At the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AILab), we refined and expanded it, and the even the board fell victim to Barica's charm, so it received an official ''workplace'' at the faculty,'' explained Schatten, emphasising the merits of everyone on the team, as well as the aforementioned Tajana Šokec, who also received an award in regard to Barica.

Schatten himself implemented the framework of the system, and this first required a Hadwer modification, which included what could be referred to as a kind of carpentry work. An old makeup cabinet was purchased, as was an old television, a bakelite telephone and a computer.

"I bought some stuff that had already been used through ads, I found some stuff in the trash, everything is completely recycled parts, except for a monitor bought by the college. I repaired the makeup cabinet, removed the mirror, disassembled the TV and shortened it down, installed the monitor, disassembled the phone, connected the headphones to the PC cable and mounted it all, everything was turned white to give a quasi shabby chic and retro look, so the physical incarnation was created in a month and a half,'' the Varazdin professor explained, adding that the software part, which is more intellectual, lasted about half a year and that the idea was still developing.

Technologically and software-wise, Barica, has a system for text-to-speech, a natural language processing system, speech synthesis, generated video expression for the face and lips (lip sync, animation made with a tool from an ordinary static image), faculty knowledge and a graphical interface. One of Barica's most important features is that it works in the Croatian language, which was the main reason for its emergence, as such systems are very rare, as was pointed out by the lecturer of Theoretical and Applied Fundamentals of Information Sciences of FOI.

"I have no information that there is any similar system in Croatia in higher education institutions," he stated. Barica answers four questions as a basic aid to students and that is its main function, but Schatten says she has a much larger vocabulary and that the plans are to work on that.

Could Barica or maybe some future T.E.F. become a ''professor'' and thus replace him and other people?

"So far, only partially. The technology of talking agents like Barica and artificial intelligence generally has its limitations. We can do a lot, but we can't do much moe [than we have]. A (good) system can give a lecture and even respond to students' questions related to the material, but it cannot respond to unforeseen situations or creatively solve a new problem. Although artificial intelligence technology seems to be very close to human intelligence, we're still very far from it. This, of course, doesn't mean that very useful systems cannot be built with the help of artificial intelligence,'' concluded Prof.Dr. Markus Schatten.

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More than 1000 investors have invested in this Croatian company, raising its market value to a massive 45 million euros. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 3rd of December, 2019, Greyp Bikes, whose founder and director is the incredible Croatian entrepreneur from Livno, Mate Rimac, has raised 1.44 million euros in capital, 79 percent more than the target, through the popular German platform Neufund.

This concludes, and very successfully so, the first regulated blockchain and cryptocurrency group investment campaign in a company located here in Europe. In the USA, such investment campaigns have been underway since May 2016, the crowdsourcing platforms and campaigns are overseen there by the SEC regulator and FINRA.

Here at home in Europe, however, the move by the Croatian electric car manufacturer and Greyp Bikes owner sets a real precedent on the financial markets here. Greyp Bikes has launched the first legal Equity Token Offering (ETO) in the whole of Europe.

Its compliance with the law was monitored by the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA) regulator. ETO is a combination of the controversial and unregulated Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and the more traditional and preregulated Initial Public Offering (IPO). In recent years, many entrepreneurs have opted to raise capital through ICOs because of the low costs involved, which has created pressure on the offer of expensive investment mechanisms, such as IPOs, upon which the world stock exchanges from the NYSE and LSE to the ZSE are based.

Mario Vojvoda, ETO project manager at Greyp Bikes and co-founder and technical director of Croatian startup Tolar, says they have opened a new opportunity for EU companies and investors: "ETO investing will increase financing opportunities for all companies and democratise the availability of money, which is something crucial in markets like the Croatian one, which isn't so much in the focus of big investors,'' stated Vojboboda, noting that Greyp Bikes' ETO still didn't go all that smoothly despite the excellent results we now see in the end.

Potentially the biggest problem was created by the German regulator BaFina, which, as soon as it found out what was going on, issued a statement accusing the Croatian company of potentially issuing a public offering without a prospectus through the aforementioned German platform.

BaFina argued that there was no exemption from the obligation to publish a prospectus for all campaigns advertised in Germany under their Securities Act. It also demanded clarification from Greyp Bikes. Neither Neufund, Greyp Bikes or even crypto experts saw the issue as ETO approval was issued by the Liechtenstein FMA. This turned the debate into a weighing-in of the forces of the two EU regulators. The direction in which that all went is best described by the fact that BaFina did not seek a ban on Greyp Bikes' campaign, that is, it was more than successfully concluded.

Mario Vojvoda politely declined to comment on BaFina's move, but stressed that the most important thing for them from the beginning of campaign planning was that the process was regulatory-compliant and fully legal.

"We've made great efforts to have a serious, transparent, clear and legally clean process and we consider our process to be completely regular," stated Vojboda. He added that it is absolutely crucial for them to have a dialogue with regulators and to make sure all the details are clear. All of this fuss failed affect the ETO campaign. Greyp Bikes had planned to raise 805,617 euros, and in the end, a total of 1017 investors bought stakes in the Croatian company in the amount of 1.44 million euros.

As a result, Greyp Bikes now has a market value of 45 million euro or more than 330 million kuna. Here in Croatia, Funderbeam SEE offers a similar investment opportunity, but for example without cryptocurrency payments. However, as with stock exchanges, it seems crucial to choose a specific target group of investors. Namely, some of the biggest investors and biggest business partners in Mate Rimac's businesses so far come from Germany.

"The campaign has aroused a lot of investor interest and has thus enabled us to create a technology-loving community that is ready for bold steps in technology development, in which it will actively participate with Greyp, Bikes" explained Vojvoda.

Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Greyp Bikes, sees the company with revenues of one billion kuna by 2024. Last year, according to Fina, the company reduced revenue from 3.6 kuna down to 3.2 million kuna, while the company's losses increased from 2.7 kuna to 7.7 million kuna. On the other hand, it sees growth in the use of blockchain in smart traffic. Neufund itself is already preparing three new ETO campaigns for two startups from Germany and one from India.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 1st of December, 2019, the Croatian software company GDi Group has assembled an international consortium comprising the US corporation ESRI and the German satellite company European Space Imaging, and in Albania, in coordination with the government there, the software is assisting local authorities in Durres in its search and rescue operation.

The company's engagement is free, which makes the action launched by the Croatian software company GDi the largest CSR project that a Croatian company has done on a global level.

Durres, an Albanian city on the Adriatic coast 300 kilometres from Croatia's southernmost city of Dubrovnik, was hit by two terrible earthquakes in the early hours of Tuesday, November the 26th, after which ground tremors continued and were felt throughout Dalmatia. So far, more than 500 minor earthquakes have been reported.

The Albanian earthquake has claimed 50 lives so far and 790 people were injured to some extent or another. The UN has sent its team to Albania, and Andrej Lončarić, a board member of the Croatian software company GDi, who is coordinating the action with colleagues from Tirana and Zagreb, says they have donated geoinformatics (GIS) applications.

"Our team of seven people in Tirana and Zagreb, together with partners, is working with teams out in the field to give those affected and their rescuers a better overview of the current situation," says Lončarić.

With the help of American and German companies mentioned above, the Croatian software company GDi has created fresh maps of Albania. The first donated application, "Sherbimet per Ndihmen e Shpejte" (Emergency Services), is a map of the nearest hospitals and emergency services. It is being updated in coordination with the local authorities there and is currently being claimed to be more relevant source of information than Google Maps itself.

The second application "Raporto Demet nga Termeti 26 Nentor 2019" (Earthquake Damage Report) is a claim form. Citizens can immediately send photos of structures, mark a location on the map, leave contact information and other information.

"The applications are not commercial and branded, they are in Albanian,'' says GDi's Andrej Lončarić, explaining that the apps work on all smartphones and that their promotion via social media has been extremely helpful.

He states that in the first application, in cooperation with the Albanian authorities, they entered more than 40 locations of hospitals and emergency services, while in the second, 864 claims were filed by the citizens themselves by Sunday. This second application, which operates on the principle of crowdsourcing, has also become the most complete source for the current state of damage in Durres and the surrounding area and is used by local services and the Albanian Government.

They also created a third donated app, a dashboard that gives a macro view of all logins and statuses in the field, to evaluate further actions, such as whether reportedly damaged structures will be able to be repaired or will have to be demolished. Lončarić says the action is still ongoing, they're adding other applications for which there is a need, such as their fourth application, a kind of digital cartographic picture book "Evidento Dëmet nga Tërmeti" (Earthquake damage viewer), where the situation before and after the earthquake can be seen, and where the damaged structures are marked clearly with red dots.

In Croatia, the civil protection of the Republic of Croatia, the Office for Emergency Situations in Zagreb, firefighters and other such services already have such software capabilities.

In 2014, this Croatian software company created a similar application donation action in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia when floods caused enormous issues, and during summer in Dalmatia when a series of devastating fires broke out. Similar help in the digital world is provided by the Giscloud company in Zagreb, which, in Fiji, helped a non-profit organisation optimise their donations of water filters through the mapping of drinking water sources.

The number of Croatian companies and entrepreneurs working to address the serious problems facing communities around the world has increased in recent years.

From Nenad Bakić, who, through IRIM, encourages the development of STEM education in Croatia and throughout the region, through the ACT Group and Brodot who support social entrepreneurs, to a whole new generation of entrepreneurs in the area, who, in addition to profitability, care about the impact their products and services will have on the community.

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An incredible substance detector has been developed in Zagreb for use in ports across the globe. The piece of innovation made in Croatia will certainly see the respected Zagreb institute gain even more of the scientific limelight.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 1st of December, 2019, the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) in Zagreb could soon become one of the global centres for the development and production of sophisticated security equipment for the detection of nuclear and other hasardous substances.

On Friday, the aforementioned institute presented a fascinating prototype of their substance detector for cargo control at seaports, the device would also aid in the discovery of special nuclear materials. This silicon carbide detector was developed continuously over three long years as part of the E-SiCure project under the NATO Peace and Security Science (SPS) Program.

According to the Institute, this is one of the largest projects within this program in Croatia, and besides them, partners from Slovenia, Portugal, Australia and Japan have also participated.

The detector which was made in Croatia was presented by the head of research Dr. Sc. Ivana Capan, who explained that the project was worth 396,500 euros in total, and as much as 31 percent of the funding went to the Croatian institute.

"Our goal was to develop specialised silicon carbide detectors with the help of theoretical, experimental and applied research,'' explained Dr. Capan. She stressed that this is not yet a commercial product but a first and major step towards the development of such a product that would be highly specific and globally accepted.

"There is a quality Helium-3 nuclear detector already in existence, but the problem is that following 9/11, the USA bought all the gas on the market and everyone else has to just deal with it. That's why things started moving towards an alternative and reliable detector, which is backed by NATO," Capan stated.

The importance of this technology has also been demonstrated by the fact that around 50,000 merchant ships are sailing the world 's seas and such a product would be of priceless value.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes on the 28th of November, 2019, the Zagreb-based IT company Aduro Idea (Aduro Ideja) presented a brand new business solution for renters and private users in Zagreb.

The product is a smart lock called the NCF SmartLock. Digitising the process allows front doors to be opened via a smartphone (or with an unlock code), giving renters a tool that allows guests to open the door by sending what is known as a digital key. It is given for a fixed period of time, and after it expires, the door can no longer be opened.

Aduro Idea is led by director Nenad Raca, who also owns the company. According to him, the project for the commercialisation of the NCF SmartLock business solution is worth as much as 1.9 million kuna, which, with an amount of around 900 thousand kuna, was co-financed under the call for the "commercialisation of entrepreneurship innovation" with ESIF funds under the competitiveness and cohesion operational program 2014-2020.

"The project began back in April 2018, and today we have a Croatian product that can be attached to any cylinder. The NFC SmartLock is designed and constructed entirely from the minds of our engineers. In addition to the software part, where we're most ''at home'', we've also developed electronic and mechanical solutions, all in collaboration with the Croatian distributor of global lock brands,'' stated Raca.

For starters, the smart feature is only to do with unlocking and locking the door with the use of a mobile phone, but according to Aduro Idea's further announcements, various upgrades are coming soon - from the smart ring to the opening doors using face recognition. The competitive advantage of this business solution is reflected in the speed of its implementation, and Aduro Idea has explained that installation takes only two or three minutes for locksmiths. Interestingly, the Zagreb-based IT company intends to link locksmiths to interested customers with targeted distribution.

"We're entering onto the market in January and the final preparations are underway, linking up with agencies to offer renters this business improvement solution is coming next season. We plan to integrate with eVisitor, and when everything is technologically rounded off, the effect will be to create a different and more discrete experience for both parties, the renter won't have to meet with the guest if he doesn't want to,'' says Raca, adding that talks are being held with potential manufacturers in case there is a need for large volume production.

Zagreb's Aduro Idea, with close to 4 million kuna in revenue in 2018, is developing software solutions for foreign clients in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, USA and Denmark. They are expanding their business and currently employ just under twenty people. The net salary of the most experienced employees is 15,000 kuna or more, and everyone receives various bonuses.

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As Novac/Adriano Milovan writes on the 22nd of November, 2019, the Croatian Discography Association (HDU) and Poslovna spajalica have designed a new application "It's Time for Digital" (Vrijeme je za digital) which will provide insights into key information in the music industry at any time, and should, as they are convinced within the discography association, represent the new Croatian export trump card.

The new application, as they explained from HDU, will be a channel to follow for authors, performers, musicians and record labels, since it will give a transparent account of everything that is happening on the Croatian music scene in one place.

It is a single database, with up-to-date information on the use of music across all platforms and a complete streaming fee report, and will include information on album sales in music stores, collective rights revenue and radio and television broadcast information. In other words, they will bring, as HDU points out, complete and exact information on both the physical and digital sales of music content.

The Time for Digital application, in collaboration with the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), was launched in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and will start working next year, aiming to make it easier for everyone in the music business in Croatia and beyond.

Specifically, the goal is, according to HDU, to launch a new application on foreign markets, firstly on the markets of Croatia's immediate region - from Slovenia to Northern Macedonia, and then beyond. The access to Time for Digital will require, as was explained by HDU, access data, and it hasn't been excluded that over time, the new application will also release information about performers from other countries.

''Abroad, and especially within the region, interest in the application is already being shown,'' HDU stated when discussing the potential success and impact of Time for Digital as an app.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 22nd of November, 2019, entrepreneur Goran Mačinko has launched the only production of paper straws in Croatia and the region, which from 2021 will have to be used instead of plastic in the European Union. As a partner in Antela, 150,000 euros has now been invested, and the eco straws are already present in some retail chains, and will also be in hotels in Istria.

They look ''real'', and they are ''real'', and the future is already being produced right here with the production of paper straws in Croatia. The 31-year-old entrepreneur decided not to wait in 2021 when EU member states would have to ban the use of disposable plastic products, according to an EU directive which was passed this year, and started the production of paper straws in Croatia.

Straws, along with cutlery, glasses and other similar items, have just been blacklisted as plastic products in the EU, as they have been found to be among the biggest environmental nuisances, since they are mostly used once and then thrown away, creating waste that is difficult to dispose of, causing a growing environmental problem.

Mačinko is a partner and the co-owner of the Antela company registered near Poreč in Istria, which he founded back in 2015 with his Slovenian colleague Bostjan Zemljič, otherwise the founder of a company of the same name, which has been operating in neighbouring Slovenia since 2007. As a processor paper items, it processes about 400 tons per month and then sells 1000 tons.

"In Istria, Antela covers the Croatian market and will in the future open production facilities more closely geared to the needs of tourism. We're engaged in the distribution of our own products from Slovenia as well as distribution of other brands, starting with paper items and all accompanying items (cleaning agents, reusable gloves, and all the little cleaning supplies,'' Mačinko says before describing his business trip, which he recalls, in the winter of 2017, being ''born' again'' with the idea of ​​paper straws.

"We realised that we knew about paper processing technology and that such an investment in manufacturing wouldn't present a barrier to us. After studying the plastic straw market and the decision on the ban within the EU, this further encouraged us, and so we started," Goran says.

But the startup of the plant based in Poreč was preceded by long and extensive preparations, including some trips to China. For some 8 to 12 months, they negotiated with manufacturers and potential suppliers of paper and equipment, toured plants in the Far East, inspected everything they were interested in, got organised and managed to get hold of the machinery and bring it from China.

 "All Chinese manufacturers' machines are made of stainless steel to meet the technical requirements of production. If you take the negotiation period into account, the machines have been being procured for more than a year and a half, and today we're working closely with the manufacturer to troubleshoot. We've invested about 150,000 euros in the plant. The entire amount is from our own funds as a recapitalisation of the company by our Slovenian partners and by us. Additional investments required working capital and this was secured from Antela's regular business," Mačinko revealed.

He admits that the establishment of the facility was not without its initial growing pains which are quite characteristic of doing business here in Croatia.

"There were a lot of problems, there were initial hiccups, but we had no problems with the local and state institutions. All the procedures were clearly described,'' Mačinko explains.

Today, according to the information available to them, they are the only operational manufacturer of paper straws in Croatia and the region. They received a lot of positive reactions and media attention.

According to Mačinko, they are now opening the door to contracting new jobs, with company revenues expected to be around two million euros this year alone, and they expect growth with a new product to be 30-35 percent, which will allow for more employment, as currently only five of them are working there.

"The potential has been recognised by two large hotels in Istria and we're in negotiations and the test phase. We're also in talks with a number of retail chains where some have already placed the products on their shelves," Mačinko says.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes on the 21st of November, 2019, Croatian IT company Beta Software has developed a communications platform for corporate users. They recently introduced their application, Bizar, to the public after five years of developing and refining it.

Skyhighgrowth and BizDev Genius from Serbia and Zeromolecula and Aynclabs from Zagreb have joined the project in recent months, and the app is available today on all platforms, including Android, iOs and desktop. Company CEO Marko Čumbrek revealed how the application works and what makes it stand out in the proverbial "sea" of many similar ones.

Beta Software's Bizar application contains private and group conversations so that employees do not have to "exit" the application, as is usually otherwise the case, but have multiple types and levels of privacy for all projects.

The application boasts a Hidden option for ''hidden status'' messages, Private for private ones and Open and Public ones related to public projects. Within these messages, each project can be broken down into separate segments and access can be given to each individual or group that needs access to that part of the project or information.

"We can assign tasks to projects which need to be executed that are timed so that the application reminds you when and what task to complete, who should do it and for what project. It sounds complicated, but this is common in fast-moving companies that want to have everything under control,'' explains the CEO of Beta Software.

They are aware of the demanding path of market penetration, as companies such as Google, Microsoft, Slack and Monday are their strong competition, but they have still managed to come to grips with the competitive and demanding market.

Čumbrek points out that applications like Beta Software's Bizar are sought after on global markets where fast communication is absolutely imperative.

"In companies, saving time and the speed of solving tasks and projects is crucial today, especially if those companies have to separate themselves from the competition and win," Čumbrek adds. Among other things, they also offer rebranding applications, so any business can have a personalised Bizar application with their own name and logo on it. In translation; for larger clients, they also make the desired changes that competing companies, for example, don't offer.

"We're flexible because large clients and the market are asking for us to be like that. When you're like our competition, where each of them [those companies] is worth a couple of billion dollars, they have a lot of owners and some are on the stock market, you can't easily adjust and you're slower in acting and even in making decisions.

Of course, we had offers for some companies to initially be part of the Bizar project, but we didn't want to seek approval for every move precisely because you're typically very slow at the time. 

Today, Beta Software has more than 40 external associates and four full-time employees based in Dubrovnik, where it was launched in 2007.

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As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of November, 2019, Ivan Mrvoš, the owner of Include and one of the most famous startup entrepreneurs in Croatia has a brand new product, the X24 Power Pack battery, which he presented at the Smart City Fair in Barcelona. The product excelled his already wildly successful business even more and opened up more opportunities for development, and this has been fully recognised by major global players and powerful names.

The Croatian startup Include has now created its biggest innovation to date since launching the amazing smart bench. As stated, Include's brand new new product is codenamed X24 Power Pack.

The X24 Power Pack could be described with many diminutives. For example, Ivan Mrvoš, who introduced this new product at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, ​​states that it is a standard battery within the capacities of what his company creates.

However, in spite of what this obviously still humble entrepreneur claims, very little is standard about this battery. In fact, Monna Country is the most advanced version of Include's range of smart benches yet, which generate electricity themselves, store it and then charge e-bikes, mobile phones, support a range of sensors and are connected to the cloud via a 4G/LTE network.

Include's Monna Country smart benches are completely independent of the power grid, thanks to the quality of their built-in battery packs, which are now being packaged as an entirely separate product. The X24 Power Pack, moreover, could also be described as the kind of product that the incredible Tesla, the startup belonging to genius Elon Musk, began developing back in 2012 and finally launched in 2015. In actuality, that comparison wouldn't be right either, because four years ago both technology and the market were far too immature for such an offer.

Tesla has therefore focused on industrial applications by developing its Powerpack business, installing 100 kWh and 200 kWh storage batteries for communities and organisations that rely on renewable energy.

On the other hand, the version of household batteries, Powerwall, are finding it much harder to penetrate the market. The first version had a capacity of 6.5 kWh and needed to be stronger. Meanwhile, Tesla has introduced a new generation, the 13.5 kWh Powerwall 2 battery, which meets the energy backup needs of households.

The problem primarily lies in being able to meet demand, beginning in California where power outages and reductions have become commonplace, etc. 2020 is fast approaching, and the start of the massive sale of Powerwall in Japan is widely expected. Tesla boasts that it has delivered Powerwalls to 50,000 locations in seven countries so far, but Japan will actually be the start of mass commercialisation of this type of technology.

Bringing our attention back to Croatia's Include, we could also describe the X24 Power Pack as a product with at least a dozen competitors in the world. Another massive name that would boost Include to unforeseen heights is Mercedes. The German auto giant is already offering its home and battery in the market.

Mercedes is not alone in that, either. Both BMW and Nissan have also entered this business, as has Panasonic, as well as a number of other companies, some better known and some less well known, who are looking for their space on the smart grid infrastructure market. This is a new market that will fundamentally transform companies like HEP in Croatia, because the liberalisation of the sale of electricity seen in Croatia is only a lukewarm guide to the changes that follow this industry closely.

On this particular new market, where there is currently a growing demand for industrial and home batteries, Ivan Mrvoš has initially left plenty of room for proper positioning. In Barcelona, ​​Include introduced the 1.5 kWh X24 Power Pack model, which comes with the IP67 standard, which means it can last half an hour underwater. This could potentially be used for vessels.

For the first time, Include has an extremely scalable product whose use is wide and the demand for which is only going to grow. Given the fact that this more than promising Croatian startup raised the capital to expand its offer, the first fruits of this endeavour seem very promising indeed.

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