Archive

As we begin the final phase of the second edition of the European Startup Prize for Mobility it is now time to unveil the 50 finalists.

We are very proud to have received 570 applications from all across Europe, this year the quality of the submitted projects made our choice extremely difficult, but the selected startups are outstanding!

How do we proceed?

1. During the selection process, each of these 570 startups has been analysed by 3 different experts in mobility and startups ecosystem to select the top150.
2. Thanks to Early Metrics, the international rating agency for start-ups, we selected 50 finalists based on rigorous criteria such as innovation, market traction and ecological impact.
3. Finally, 9 of the 10 winners of a place in our unique accelerator programme will be selected by our eminent jury members during the big final in Brussels.
4. The 10th winner will be selected by the public on Facebook.

Discover this years 50 finalists and vote for your favorite startup with a “like”,“love”,”haha”or”wow” on their Facebook video on the playlist (some startups do not wish to participate in the public vote).

AIPARK, Germany, Solving the last mile problem for connected driving with parking data Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, 💻 Watch the video here.
alertgasoil, France, Fuel Cost Killer, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
Blickfeld, Germany, We build scalable LiDAR hardware & software, Autonomous Driving
BroadBit Batteries, Finland Better, cheaper batteries based on safe, abundant, available raw materials, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
Cargoroo, Netherlands, Cargoroo offers shared cargo bikes for families and businesses, Urban mobility
Chargery, Germany, Full service provider for shared urban electric fleets, Energy & Charging
Citygo, France, Carpooling for work, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Cityscoot, France, Leading the free-floating, shared electric scooter in the mobility market, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Cyclofix, France, On-demand maintenance service for micro-mobility devices, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
dott, Netherlands, Change is on its way (scooter), Urban mobility
EBIKELABS, France, we provide the first real electronic brain to your e-bike, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories
Einride, Sweden, the intelligent movement company, Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
ENSO Tyres, United Kingdom, we make sustainable, range-extending tyres for electric vehicles, Vehicles & Accessories
Everoad, France, Innovative digital solution matching Shippers with Carriers, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain
Faxi, United Kingdom, Incentivised carpooling for commuters, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
FretLink, France, we digitize the organization of the road transportation industry. Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility
Geovelo, France, the waze for cyclists, helping all stakeholders to develop cycling usage, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
GoodVision, Czech Republic, Automated traffic data collection from cameras through deep learning AI, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, 💻 Watch the video here.
Greenrail Group, Italy, we design and produce sustainable railway sleepers, Construction & Infrastructure, 💻 Watch the video here.
HYGEN, Germany,  we fuel your Gas Powered Vehicle at home/office in just 3 min, Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Charging, 💻 Watch the video here.
Hyper Poland, Poland Hyper, Poland, Dream big & move fast, Logistics & Supply Chain, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
K-Ryole, France, The 1st smart electrical bike trailer that makes you feel it’s always empty, Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
Karhoo, United Kingdom, Urban mobility marketplace, Urban mobility, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
Kyyti, Finland, we develop comprehensive, turn-key MaaS solutions, Urban mobility, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
LiveEO Berlin, Germany, we make use of satellite images to analyze infrastructure grids, Data Analytics, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Mobiag, Portugal, we provide tools for effective management and scaling of shared mobility, Urban mobility
Mobit, Belgium, IoT start-up offering bike fleet management using smart lock, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Moovee, Luxembourg, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
MUVING-TORROT, Spain, try our electric scooters now! Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
MVMANT, Germany, Public transportation on demand, Data Analytics,
ONO (Tretbox), Germany, we offer a whole new category of vehicle: a pedal-assisted transporter. Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
OpenAirlines, France, we develop solutions to help airlines reduce their costs and CO2 emission, Aerospace, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
OpenDataSoft, France, Make the most of your data Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics
Padam, France, SaaS for dynamic on-demand transport services, Public Transport, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Proximi.io, Finland, we are a unified positioning platform, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, 💻 Watch the video here.
qucit, France, smart cities startup promoting & enabling mobility through data science, Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Ryd, Germany, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
RYDIES, Germany, we digitalize & connect short-distance mobility operators, providers, users, Data Analytics, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
Scooty sharing, Belgium, a free-float scooter-sharing service active in Antwerp and Brussels Urban mobility
Shotl, Spain, we are a mobility platform that adapts in real time. Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.
TeleRetail, Germany, autonomous vehicle Software for Logistics Automation, Autonomous Driving, 💻 Watch the video here.
TransWay_fr, France, Triggering sustainable mobility Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
TWAICE, Germany, Predictive Battery Analytics with Digital Twins, Data Analytics, Energy & Charging
Unicorn Scooters, Lithuania, Unicorn electric kick scooters – designed for sharing, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
UrmO, Germany, Your journey. Your rules. Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
Valerann, United Kingdom, Valerann makes roads smart – roads that are safer, faster, & support CAVs, Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, 💻 Watch the video here.
WheelizTeam, France, The 1st website dedicated to peer-to-peer wheelchair accessible cars rental, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories, 💻 Watch the video here.
XeeTeam, France, Xee is dedicated to collect and enriched data from and for mobility project, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking
Zeleros Hyperloop, Spain Zeleros builds scalable hyperloop systems to move at 1000km/h efficiently, Construction & Infrastructure, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobilit, 💻 Watch the video here.
Zify, France, An Instant & dynamic carpooling app for short & medium distance commute, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, 💻 Watch the video here.

To know more about the public vote, please read the Rules.

Together with Karima Delli, European deputy and chairperson for European Parliament’s Transport Committee, and ViaID, BCG has co-founded the European Startup Prize for Mobility (EUSP) in 2018. Last week, we closed the application process of our second edition. It’s a good time to step back.

When we started in late 2017, our ambition was strong: in a fragmented European market, where talent and funding are scarcer than in the US or in Asia, we wanted to uncover future global leaders and help them scale fast. The European startup scene was burgeoning but lacking ambition. We wanted to contribute through mentoring, connections, visibility, and everything else our skills and passion could bring.

In many ways, the first edition brought us way beyond what we could have dreamed of:

• 500 candidates from all European Union countries
• Support from leading European mobility scale-ups such as Taxify, Drivy or Stuart
• 4 outstanding winners with Cargonexx (innovative long haul transportation network for goods, Germany), Cocolis (long distance Peer-to-Peer delivery network, France), Klaxit(short distance carpooling platform, France), and MaaS Global (Mobility-as-a-Service platform, Finland)
• A mentoring process that helped our winners refine their strategy and business model, and built the trust they needed to accelerate

Overall, the first edition validated the relevance of our unique positioning. We helped meeting a critical need.

Yet, beyond this success, we stayed with an important source of frustration, which I expressed in two occasions: as a “call for action” in Brussels during our closing ceremony, but also as a benchmark in an article we wrote after a fascinating business trip in Israel.

• First, European startups must be sharper and quicker in the monetization of their business model. We have encouraged many of them to turn to B2B or B2G, to avoid the cash drain of the B2C gold rush. Targeting large corporates or government entities as clients allows a startup to rapidly capture large revenue streams from few clients, spending less time and money building a large initial client base.
• Second, real success can only come from technology and product differentiation. Too many European startups were focusing on marginal service improvement, not enough to become a real game changer. Startups need to offer hybrid solutions, combining for instance physical products with innovative software or apps with data collection plans. A successful example is Via, who decided not to rely on Google Maps but to build its own mapping system, a more powerful, precise and constantly learning technology. Another one is Mobileye, selling a physical product and using it to collect data they will use to develop even more cutting edge products in the future. Both companies are laying the foundations of their future products while still generating cash today.

On those two directions, our list of applicants for the second edition is more than encouraging

• The proportion of startups with a B2B business model increased significantly (from 60% of applicants in 2018 to 75% in 2019)
• We find a balanced split between service (Software, platform / marketplace, apps) and product (IoT, vehicle, hardware / equipment) startups, yet many of them fit into both categories, integrating a data collection program or proprietary software in their physical products.

This strengthen the case for the unique positioning of our prize even more. By shifting from B2C to B2B and from online services to hybrid models, startups are acknowledging that they have to be part of a solution – vs. THE solution – that would involve both existing large groups and public authorities. The cooperation between all types of players, which is at the heart of our initiative, becomes critical.

This is not inconsistent with startups becoming multi-million euro companies. It is quite the contrary actually. For this second edition, every other indicator reveal a very healthy pipe of candidates, with encouraging metrics when compared to last year. The prize is attracting more developed startups, both in terms of team size and maturity. At the same time, applicants are at a more advanced stage in terms of funding (85% have already raised money vs. 75% last year). Finally, three quarters of applicants are already generating revenues with paying customers (vs. 25% in 2018).

We truly hope the following steps of our selection process will confirm these directions. After years of waiting, and only a handful of true successes, 2019 could be the awakening of a tech-driven, viable and scalable mobility start-up scene.

Joël Hazan, BHI Fellow on the Future of Mobility, Partner & Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group

Lorraine Forestier

Pierre-Francois Marteau

For quite some time, bikes have reigned supreme on the field of sustainable, non-motorised means of transportation. But recently, all sorts of new engines have begun flocking our streets: electric scooters, Segways, e-skates, hoverboards, electric skateboards, what have you. It will take more than technological innovation, however, for these soft mobility solutions to achieve true intermodality — after all, that’s what this is all about.

E-skates, hoverboards and shared bikes

After the successive (half-) failures of Vélib and free-floating bike services, the city of Paris is now roamed by electric scooters, courtesy of Californian companies Lime Bike and Bird. Since the summer of 2017, Strasbourg-based startup Knot is testing its non-electrical scooter services around train stations in Saint-Denis and Montrouge (both neighbouring cities of the French capital), as well as in Colmar. Plans are in the works to launch in the United States and Germany too. In France, around 800 000 to 1 million scooters are sold every year. They are lighter, easier to park and easier to maintain than bikes; when un-motorised, they can be used on the sidewalks and are safe for people who don’t know how to drive (yes, riding a bike in the city definitely requires some knowledge in that department).

Then, you have the new shiny, futuristic gadgets that money can buy. For a couple of years, people have been developing their own electric skateboards, and now you can just buy them. Segway, after inundating the world with its gyropods and hands-free wheels, recently launched the e-skates: two small platforms, one for each feet, that are commanded much like the original Segway, by shifting the weight of the body. Hoverboards have now become so ubiquitous you can find one for less than 150€.

The trouble with intermodality

Compared to the bike, these objects all have one thing in common: they are easy to take along on a train, subway or bus ride, effectively solving the first and last mile problem. In cities like Berlin and Copenhagen, where the stations have no turnstiles and most trains have designated spaces for bikes, it’s easy to combine cycling and riding the train in your everyday commute. But in London, for instance, only foldable bikes can be taken on the Tube within the limits of the Circle line, i.e. the city centre. In Paris, it is forbidden altogether to take a bike in the métro, bus and tramways: only suburban line trains allow it, outside of peak hours — which defeats the whole purpose of intermodality on the way to work.

This matters because, as shows a study led by BCG with the Urban Lab at My Little Paris, even though new mobility solutions have multiplied recently, people in the Paris region haven’t really changed their commuting habits. While 97% of respondents in the “urban millennial” segment said they had at least one mobility-oriented app on their phone and 76% had used a shared mobility service in the past 6 months, only 6% resort to them on a daily basis. Users cite difficulties with soft mobility services (like Vélib bikes that are more often broken than not) and the fact that they are often confined to the city of Paris as reasons for not using them everyday.

Above all, as these services proliferate, people end up with dozens of mobility apps on their phones, which truly doesn’t favour intermodality. As explains François Adoue, a doctor in town and country planning, to La Tribune, “people try to sell these solutions as an answer to the last mile problem. But in reality, these new modes of mobility do not develop in complementarity along one ride.” That’s where Mobility as a Service comes into play: according to the BCG and My Little Paris study, “a single-use application would facilitate navigating” the different options, as well as “raise awareness among the citizens” on their very existence. If we don’t make it easier to switch between a personal bike to a suburban train to an electric scooter, multiplying these options doesn’t make that much of a difference.

Road transport is a major stake for durable mobility. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), it accounts for over 75% of all goods transported over land. It also contributes about one-fifth of the EU’s road transport emissions of carbon dioxide. That impact is likely to grow: “Experts expect global CO2 emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050,” Andreas Thon, Siemens’s vice president for Turnkey Projects and Electrification in North America, tells New Atlas. Thankfully, road transport can be disrupted too.

Electric highways

In 2012, Siemens started testing in Germany its eHighway concept, in which commercial vehicles are retrofitted with a powertrain that draws electricity from overhead cables, allowing them to run on electric power only. In 2016, the “electric highway for trucks” made it to Sweden and in 2017, it was installed around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California. The aim of the demonstration was to show the system can help reduce “smog-forming, toxic emissions around ports,” wrote New Atlas at the time. Inverse wrote that “cutting truck emissions would have a huge impact on climate change and on the health of those who live near the most congested cities.” Siemens’ Andreas Thon explained: “That’s the main reason that we’re doing this. The main reason is the environmental aspect, both pollution and noise. The economic benefits come in addition.”

In Sweden, in April 2018, a similar technology was installed in the road: two tracks of rail transfer electricity through a movable arm that attaches to the bottom of a moving vehicle. The electrified road is the world’s first that can recharge the batteries of cars and trucks; at 1€ a kilometer, the cost is roughly 50 times lower than that required to construct an urban tram line, reports The Guardian. And the “dynamic charging” means the vehicle’s batteries can be smaller. The Swedish government is reportedly in talks with Germany to develop a network of such highways.

Autonomous trucks

In 2016, the Netherlands organised the first “European Truck Platooning Challenge” so that six European manufacturers could test their autonomous trucks in real life. Platoons of WiFi-communicating trucks left Germany, Sweden and Belgium to converge to the Rotterdam harbour. The aim was to prove that self-driving trucks are safer, cost less and consume less fuel: according to a study, two platooning trucks driving for 160 000 km could save up to 6000€ of gas a year.

In the United States, competition is already fierce. The main actors of the automated truck business are Peloton Technology, Embark, Starsky Robotics, as well as Waymo, Kache.ai and Kodiak Robotics. The new kid on the block, Ike, wants to build “hubs” along the highways, where self-driving trucks can park and wait for drivers to take them to their final destination. The question now, on both sides of the ocean, is whether the diversity of legal frameworks can accommodate the deployment of autonomous freights at a large scale. In Belgium, for instance, where the minimum safety distance between two trucks is 50 meters, “platooning” (which requires trucks to drive closer to one another) is de facto illegal.

The virtues of an integrated approach

But technology is not the only answer to the greenhouse gas emissions problem. In 2016, the ACEA presented the results of a study by Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML), entitled “Greenhouse gas reduction measures for the road freight transport sector.” Its conclusion was that improving the technology of new vehicles is only part of the solution: “there are many more factors than just the vehicle alone that determine CO2 emissions – such as permitted vehicle length and weight, trailer designs, alternative fuels, driver behaviour, optimised transport operations, infrastructure and more,” said ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board Chairman, Martin Lundstedt, who is CEO of Volvo Group. The “optimised transport operations” part is tackled, for instance, by Cargonexx, a Hamburg-based startup that was among the winners of the 2018 edition of the European Startup Prize for Mobility: it uses AI to improve the utilisation of trucks and reduce the number of empty runs.

A 2016 report by the European Environment Agency, entitled “Explaining Road Transport Emissions”, confirms that good progress has been achieved over the past 25 years thanks to a global approach: setting technological standards for vehicle emissions and fuel quality, establishing air quality limits, improving transport planning and public transport incentives, among other things. And the ACEA strongly advocates for an integrated approach, which they believe to be “the only way to reduce the CO2 emissions of the transport industry in Europe on a large scale.”

We are very proud to have received 568 application for the 2019 edition of EUSP for Mobility.

Following weeks of thorough deliberation – each of these startups was analysed by three different experts (thanks to our 55 evaluators from all over Europe) – the 150 best candidates where chosen for phase 2 of the prize. Those candidates represent all of European Union countries, demonstrating the international coverage of the prize.

In our selection process, we focused on the ability to have an business model that can quickly generate revenues, and therefore have a high proportion of candidates who already have paying customers.

We are proud to see that our 2019 Top 150 candidates include startups that are more mature and with larger teams, as well as more advanced in terms of money raised.

Finally, we are happy to see that mobility now goes along with ecology thanks to candidates who always stress the ecological and social impacts of their offers.

After the phase 2, there will be 50 candidates remaining who will be submitted to the public vote. This vote will determine one of the ten winners. Stay tunned.

Discover the TOP150:

AC Biode; United Kingdom, Cambridge ; Energy & Charging ; First-ever AC Battery by Biode (patents-pending)
Addionics; United Kingdom, London ; Energy & Charging ; Reshaping Batteries
AIPARK; Germany, Braunschweig ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; Solving the last mile problem for connected driving with parking data
alertgasoil™; France, Marseille ; Data Analytics ; Fuel Cost Killer
Aurizone; France, Paris ; Urban mobility ; Aurizone is the Indoor Positioning System dedicated to visualy impaired
Auto Drive Solutions S.L; Spain, Madrid ; Autonomous Driving ; Making autonomous driving happen
AutoKAB; France, Versailles ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics ; Safe Autonomy-as-a-Service for Public Transport Autonomous Vehicles
Bagtrax; United Kingdom, London ; Aerospace, GPS & Tracking, Logistics & Supply Chain ; A patented bag&cargo tracking device and an App for immediate compensation
BePooler; Italy, Milan ; GPS & Tracking, Public Transport, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; The best way to keep up with mobility innovation and green-sustainability
BitwardIt; Finland, Helsinki ; Construction & Infrastructure, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; We create Digital Access Solutions to enable an Ecosystem of Shared Economy
Bleenco; Germany, Muenchen ; Autonomous Driving, Vehicles & Accessories ; Bleenco is a Munich-based startup building human-centered technologies.
Blickfeld; Germany, Muenchen ; Autonomous Driving, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain ; We build scalable LiDAR hardware & software
Breeze Technologies; Germany, Hamburg ; Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; Fighting air pollution with artificial intelligence
BroadBit Batteries; Finland, Helsinki ; Aerospace, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Better, cheaper batteries based on safe, abundant, available raw materials
BusUp; Spain, Barcelona ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; Bus ride-sharing services for B2B and B2C
Car & Away; United Kingdom, London ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; Wheels Reinvented – The Airbnb for cars
Cargoroo; Netherlands, Amsterdam Urban mobility ; Cargoroo offers shared cargo bikes for families and businesses
casky; France, Lyon ; Vehicles & Accessories ; More than a helmet, Casky is a personal road safety device for 2 wheels.
Certificare.fr; France, Saint-Brieuc ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics ; Trusted Mobility – We act for loyal and sustainable Mobility in Europe.
Chargery; Germany, Berlin ; Energy & Charging, Urban mobility ; full service provider for shared urban electric fleets.
Citygo new; France, Paris ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; Citygo première plateforme de covoiturage domicile loisirs
CityMaaS; United Kingdom, London ; GPS & Tracking, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; CityMaaS Assist provides personalised travel assistant for disabled people
Cityscoot; France, Paris ; Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Leading the free-floating, shared electric scooter in the mobility market
Clicars Team; Spain, Madrid ; Vehicles & Accessories ; The startup nº1 in Europe who sells cars
Cluno; Germany, Muenchen ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; Mobility & Fintech startup, offering an all-inclusive car subscription mode
Cosmo Tech; France, Lyon ; Aerospace, Autonomous Driving, Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; Cosmo Tech helps you make optimal decisions with Augmented Intelligence
CosmoConnected; France, Paris ; GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; We aims at becoming the world leader in safety & security on the road.
Courseur; France, Paris ; Logistics & Supply Chain ; Courseur is a collaborative delivery service between neighbors.
Cyc-lok; Ireland, Carlow ; Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Cyc-lok is a SMART Bike locker system, app based and publicly accessible.
CYCAD team; Belgium, Brussels ; Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; CYCAD offers long term renting of electric bamboo bike made in Belgium
CYCL.bike; United Kingdom, London ; Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; CYCL are a London-based team working on two-wheel mobility solutions
Cyclofix; France, Paris ; Urban mobility ; On-demand maintenance service for micro-mobility devices.
Datategy; France, Paris ; France, Paris ; Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; Datascience Experts – Flow analysis platform
Daze Technology; Italy, Bergamo ; Autonomous Driving, Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Charging, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; We develop autonomous conductive chargers for electric vehicles
DISCOPERI Inc.: Spain, Madrid ; Autonomous Driving, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Discoperi Inc. is a startup that launches road accident prevention system
Dott; Netherlands, Amsterdam ; Urban mobility ; Change is on its way (scooter)
Dovu; United Kingdom, Bristol ; Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Blockchain Powered Mobility
EBIKELABS; France, Grenoble ; Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; EBIKELABS provides the first real electronic brain to your e-bike
Einride; Sweden, Goeteborg ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; The intelligent movement company
ELECTRICLOADING; France, Lieusaint ; Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Electric loading create recharging systems for electric véhicles
Ellis-Car; France, Paris ; Data Analytics, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; A.I-based Road Safety Behavioral solutions to prevent Crashes & Pollution
ENSO Tyres; United Kingdom, London ; Vehicles & Accessories ; ENSO makes sustainable, range-extending tyres for electric vehicles
Enway; Germany, Berlin ; Autonomous Driving, Vehicles & Accessories ; Enway works on autonomous municipal services
Everoad; France, Paris ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain ; Innovative digital solution matching Shippers with Carriers
Faxi; United Kingdom, London ; GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility ; Incentivised carpooling for commuters
FELIX; France, Paris ; Urban mobility ; Uber-like urban transportation service using a fleet of electric scooters
Flash Tech Ind; France, Paris Urban mobility ; We create high visibility jackets that turns safety into fashion
FORWARD-Cargo; Germany, Hamburg ; Logistics & Supply Chain ; FORWARD the B2B solution for regional transport logistics
FretLink; France, Paris ; Logistics & Supply Chain ; Fretlink digitizes the organization of the road transportation industry.
FuelSave; Portugal, Lisbon ; Data Analytics ; Real-time data analysis for driving optimisation
Geo4Cast; France, Paris ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Mobility software solutions based on a real time geolocation data platform
Geovelo; France, Tours ; GPS & Tracking, Public Transport, Urban mobility the waze for cyclists, helping all stakeholders to develop cycling usage
GoodVision; Czech Republic, Prague ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; Automated traffic data collection from cameras through deep learning AI
GoVolt; Italy, Milan ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility ; GoVolt is a free-floating electric scooter-sharing company
Greengame; United Kingdom, London ; Urban mobility ; Enabling businesses and cities to incentivise sustainable living at scale
Greenrail; Italy, Milan ; Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Italian company that designs and produces sustainable railway sleepers.
Groupito; France, Paris ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; Platform to find a carrier for transporting groups of 5 people or more.
H2H Group; Norway, Oslo ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain ; real-time data stream with provenance and apps for supply chain tacking
Hubup; France, Paris ; GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; Reinvent Public Transport
HYGEN Group; Germany, Berlin ; Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Charging ; HYGEN fuels your Gas Powered Vehicle at home/office in just 3 min.
Hyper Poland; Poland, Warsaw ; Logistics & Supply Chain, Vehicles & Accessories ; Hyper Poland. Dream big & move fast.
HySiLabs; France, Aix-en-Provence ; Energy & Charging, Logistics & Supply Chain ; Facilitation of energy storage and delivery with a hydrogen liquid carrier
ID-NRJ; France, Lille Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; We develop a game changing battery technology for mobility
Industrial Electric Vehicle Distribution; Denmark, Copenhagen ; Urban mobility ; development and production of cargo e bikes with electronic transmission
Internest: autonomous indoor drones;France, Paris ; Aerospace, Autonomous Driving, GPS & Tracking ; Guiding and positioning system for drones in complex environment
iomob; Spain, Barcelona ; Urban mobility ; Iomob is providing the infrastructure for the internet of mobility.
Juuve | Shared Mobility; Netherlands, Rotterdam ; Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; Shared e-mobility within buildings. Less cars and bikes, more space.
Joyn Joyn; Belgium, Brussels ; Urban mobility ; Joyn Joyn is a mobility aggregator for your day-to-day life.
K-Ryole; France, Paris ; Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; The 1st smart electrical bike trailer that makes you feel it’s always empty
Karhoo; United Kingdom, London ; Urban mobility ; Urban Mobility Marketplace
Kyyti; Finland, Helsinki ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Finnish start-up developing comprehensive, turn-key MaaS solutions.
LetMePark.es; Spain, Madrid ; Urban mobility ; Marking parking simple and cities smarter by automating parking process
Libralato; United Kingdom, Manchester; Aerospace, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; R6 eco-engine – breaking the car’s addiction to oil – without compromise
Lightyear One; Netherlands, Helmond ; Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Lightyear is developing worlds 1st consumer Solar Car with 100 engineers
LISA Airplanes; France, Chambery ; Aerospace, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain, Public Transport, Vehicles & Accessories ; creating a new sustainable innovative aviation to improve regional mobility
LiveEO; Germany, Berlin ; Data Analytics, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; LiveEO makes use of satellite images to analyze infrastructure grids.
Lyko; France, Lyon ; Aerospace, Urban mobility ; Lyko is a ride-sharing solution for airports transfers
Maestra Mobility; France, Lille ; Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; An electric 3-wheel kick-scooter, turnable to a groceries trolley
Mass Factory; Spain, Barcelona ; GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Develops Systems to improve mobility, quality of life and social inclusion
Mobeelity; France, Paris Urban mobility ; we gather all the transports means (and their app) in one single app
Mobiag; Portugal, Lisbon ; Urban mobility ; We provide tools for effective management and scaling of shared mobility
Mobilités dans l’Air; France, Aix-en-Provence ; Aerospace, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Create and prepare the ecosystem for an early adoption of Air Mobility
Mobility Tech Green; France, Rennes ; Data Analytics, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; The B2B carsharing leader in Europe
Mobit; Belgium, Brussels ; GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility ; IoT start-up offering bike fleet management using smart lock
Monkey Factory – MyBus; France, Clermont-Ferrand ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; MyBus offers a simple, universal, free and ready-to-use m-Ticket solution.
Monotch; Netherlands, Breda ; Urban mobility ; MONOTCH making traffic talk
Moovee; Luxembourg, Luxembourg ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility
MOQO; Germany, Aachen ; Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, GPS & Tracking ; MOQO enables you to offer a shared e-mobility service to your community
MotionTag; Germany, Potsdam ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain ; MOTIONTAG creates seamless, sustainable and smart mobility.
MOTORDISC ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION; Spain, Madrid ; Energy & Charging, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; electric hybridization of internal combustion vehicles.
MOPRIM, Finland, Helsinki ; Data & Analytics, Mobile, Smart Cities, Software, Transportation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Mobile TechnologyMOPRIM knows how the world moves by creating data from everyday movement
Munevo; Germany, Muenchen ; GPS & Tracking, Public Transport, Vehicles & Accessories ; Munevo Drive is a Smart Glass Solution for hands-free wheelchair driving
MUVING-TORROT; Spain, El Puerto de Santa Maria ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, Logistics & Supply Chain ; Empresa de movilidad personal conectada que contribuye a la sostenibilidad.
MVMANT; Germany, Kornwestheim ; Data Analytics, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Public transportation on demand
My Anatol; France, Paris ; Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; My Anatol – Together, Making City Congestion History!
Natural Idées; France, Antony ; Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, Logistics & Supply Chain, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Natural idées develops state of the art connected urban furniture
Nextérité; France, Paris ; Data Analytics, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; Smart Semantic Solutions for Transportation and Innovation
nielsen concept; France, Nantes ; Urban mobility ; Delivers secured bike parking & fleets of electrical bike & scooters
ObjectBox; Germany, Muenchen ; Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Fastest on-device database for IoT and Mobile
ONO; Germany, Berlin ; Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories; ONO offers a whole new category of vehicle: a pedal-assisted transporter.
OpenAirlines; France, Toulouse ; Aerospace, Data Analytics ; We develop Solutions to help airlines reduce their costs and CO2 emission
OpenDataSoft; France, Paris ; Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Logistics & Supply Chain, Public Transport, Urban mobility; Make the most of your data
Oribiky; France, Paris Urban mobility ; ORIBIKY – dockless eBike sharing service in Paris
Padam; France, Paris ; Public Transport, Urban mobility ; SaaS for dynamic on-demand transport services
Park Smart; Italy, Catania ; Construction & Infrastructure, Urban mobility ; video sensor based system to monitor city side parking spaces
Parkki; France, Lille ; Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; Parkki is the first multi-technology supervisor for smart parking
Proximi; Finland, Helsinki ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Proximi.io is a unified positioning platform
Purple Blob; Spain, Barakaldo ; GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility ; We develop and innovate in the ICT field
Quantoz Technology; Netherlands, Utrecht ; Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility ; We develop a blockchain based compliant payment infrastructure for the IoT
Qucit; France, Bordeaux ; Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Urban mobility ; Smart cities startup promoting & enabling mobility through data science
R-PUR; France, Paris Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; The most efficient antipollution mask for two wheel users.
Re2you; Germany, Berlin ; Aerospace, Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking ; connected device ecosystem- OS agnostic- patented cloud browsing technology
RYDIES; Germany, Muenchen ; Data Analytics, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; We digitalize & connect short-distance mobility operators, providers, users
SCOOBIC; Spain, Dos Hermanas ; Autonomous Driving, Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, Logistics & Supply Chain ; Passion Motorbike Factory SL
Scoot Networks; Spain, Barcelona ; Urban mobility ; We are shared, sustainable and local: We are electric vehicles for everyone
Scooty sharing; Belgium, Brussels ; Urban mobility ; A free-float scooter-sharing service active in Antwerp and Brussels
SCROOSER; Germany, Berlin ; Urban mobility ; Manufacturer of innovative premium E-Scooters
Sensefinity; Portugal, Lisbon ; GPS & Tracking, Logistics & Supply Chain, Vehicles & Accessories ; The Internet of Cargo
Shotl; Spain, Barcelona ; Urban mobility ; Shotl is a mobility platform that adapts in real time.
Signol; United Kingdom, London ; Aerospace, Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain, Public TransportA world class employee feedback software.
Situm Technologies; Spain, Santiago de Compostela ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking ; Situm provides a high precision/low infrastructure indoor location platform
SIUT; Germany, Berlin ; Construction & Infrastructure, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; SIUT develops guidance systems with concrete that are able to communicate!
Skoon Energy; Netherlands, Rotterdam ; Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain ; Skoon Energy offers versatile batteries, for share, rent and lease.
SmartGreenCharge; France, Fessenheim ; Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; 1st renewable standalone electric filling station
TeleRetail; Germany, Dusseldorf ; Autonomous Driving, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Logistics & Supply Chain ; Autonomous vehicle Software for Logistics Automation
ThinxNet; Germany, Muenchen ; Data Analytics, Energy & Charging, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; ThinxNet, German Start-Up and leading force behind SmartCar solution ryd
TicTacTrip; France, Paris ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport ; The ground travel expert : compare and combines bus, trains, and carpooling
tixiPASS; France, Saint-Cloud ; Data Analytics, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; airweb has created tixiPASS : the multi-network mass transit ticketing app!
Toroidion; Finland, Pohja ; Aerospace, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; High performance and safe electric powertrain for all vehicle applications
TransitionOne; France, Orleans ; GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Upgrade easily your small cars to an electric world for new experiences
TransWay_fr; France, Nantes ; Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Public Transport, Urban mobility; triggering sustainable mobility ;
Trucksters; Spain, Madrid ; Logistics & Supply Chain ; Connecting drivers and carriers to optimize road freight transport
TWAICE; Germany, Muenchen ; Data Analytics, Energy & Charging ; Predictive Battery Analytics with Digital Twins
TwinswHeel; France, Cahors Autonomous Driving, Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility ; TwinswHeel develops droids for last mile delivery
Unicorn Scooters; Lithuania, Vilnius ; Energy & Charging, GPS & Tracking, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Unicorn electric kick scooters – designed for sharing.
UpSteam; Tallinn, Estonia ; Logistics & Supply Chain, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Mobile car wash, maintenance & management
UrmO; Germany, Muenchen ; Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; Your journey. Your rules.
Valerann; United Kingdom, London ; Autonomous Driving, Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; Valerann makes roads smart – roads that are safer, faster, & support CAVs
Waste to Transport Fuel(PHEW2H2) ; Romania, Bucharest ; Energy & Charging, Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Waste to Transport Fuel (PHEW2H2) Zero Emission Gasification
Wegfinder; Austria, Vienna ; Public Transport, Urban mobility ; Startup of the Austrian federal railways. We are developing a mobility app.
WeNowteam; France, Paris Energy & Charging, Vehicles & Accessories ; WeNow is a connected dongle to the car which helps every driver measure
Wepark; Croatia, Zagreb ; Urban mobility ; WePark offers a smart solution that solves challenges of parking in cities.
WEPROOV; France, Paris ; Construction & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking ; Create secured car condition proof, empower drivers, reduce conflicts & TCO
Wheeliz; France, Paris ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility, Vehicles & Accessories ; The 1st website dedicated to peer-to-peer wheelchair accessible cars rental
Xee; France, Marquette-lez-Lille ; Data Analytics, GPS & Tracking ; Xee is dedicated to collect and enriched data from and for mobility project
Zeleros Hyperloop; Spain, Valencia ; Aerospace, Autonomous Driving, Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility ; Zeleros builds scalable hyperloop systems to move at 1000km/h efficiently
Zenpark team; France, Paris ; Autonomous Driving, Energy & Charging, Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; Zenpark operates the largest European smart connected shared car parks
Zephyre; France, Paris ; Energy & Charging
ZEPLUG; France, Paris ; Energy & Charging ; EV charging operator at home & workplace
Zify; France, Paris ; Inter-urban & Long-distance Mobility, Urban mobility ; An Instant & dynamic carpooling app for short & medium distance commute

Self-driving cars will probably end up reshaping the urban infrastructures. But as long as they have to share the road with manned vehicles, they will need to adapt and learn to communicate.

Today, we are promised a future where cities will be filled with autonomous cars seamlessly communicating with each other. No more accidents, no more traffic jams, no more parking nightmares. But before that bright future happens, autonomous cars will have to cohabit with regular ones. “Better vehicle-to-person communication will be crucial, as most experts predict a lengthy period — perhaps decades — of mixed traffic, with robot cars navigating roads alongside human-driven ones”, writes the San Francisco Chronicle in a comprehensive article on the subject. And even once they’re ubiquitous, autonomous cars will still have to communicate with other users (bicycles, scooters, mopeds, pedestrians). Which is why the study of the relationship between machines and humans is now a booming field. Particularly in the United States, social scientists (mainly anthropologists, sociologists and psychologists) are teaming up with roboticians, engineers, designers and programmers to understand how people interact with autonomous vehicles.

Building trust through communication

First, there’s the issue of acceptance. “It’s crucial to make self-driving cars accepted in society so people feel they are trustworthy and part of daily life,” Sameep Tandon, CEO and co-founder of self-driving car company Drive.ai, tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “Otherwise there’s a risk people will think of this as the robot apocalypse.” That may be where we are now. In March 2018, for the first time, a woman was killed by a driverless Uber in Arizona (it was later established the vehicle had seen her and decided not to brake). In California, one third of the collisions involving autonomous cars in 2018 were caused by humans attacking the vehicule. The New York Times recently explored the reasons why humans tend to attack robots:

cognitive neuroscientist Agnieszka Wykowska evokes a “Frankenstein syndrome,” in which “we are afraid of this thing that we don’t really fully understand, because it’s a little bit similar to us, but not quite enough.” In short, trust is not there yet.

Today, all self-driving cars must embark a human operator seating in the driver’s seat, which may increase the level of acceptance. The Center for Design Research at Stanford University is thinking about the next step, and testing how people react to an empty car. They’ve devised a “car seat” suit that renders the driver “invisible” at first glance: “Our techniques are theater-like ways of simulating the future, like live-action, improvisational role-play for science,” Wendy Ju, who leads that experiment, tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “There’s a comedy to it, but we are dead serious about collecting real behavioral responses.”

AI-powered cars

Then there’s the matter of communication. Cars will have to be able to understand what is happening around them and to react while clearly signaling their intentions. Waymo’s mini-vans are already capable of reading the hand signals of bicyclists. Google has realised that its cars are too “polite” and can stay stuck for a long time at intersections, letting all other vehicles go first. A car programmed to stop whenever there’s an obstacle would rapidly create traffic jams for no valid reason.

So the idea is not to program the understanding of external situations, but to teach it. Waymo exposes its vehicles to virtual re-creations of real-life situations; Nissan feeds them with analyses of a day in the life of an urban intersection. “So many complicated things can happen in the real world,” says Drive.ai’s Tandon. “If you program a rule for every single case, you’d have a decision tree so complicated no one could deal with it. Instead, we use deep learning to make the process go seamlessly. We want our vehicles to learn from as much data as possible.”

Once the situation has been read and a decision has been made, the car will need to communicate its intentions. How do you signal to a pedestrian that they can cross in front of you, if not with a hand gesture or a nod? Drive.ai is now experimenting with light displays on the roof of the car. Nissan has appointed anthropologist Melissa Cerfkin to work on the understandability of white LED arcs, also on the roof, that signal intentions. Other methods could include “audible cues (perhaps a polite voice saying ‘Cross now,’ or a musical tone as at some stoplights); rooftop displays showing symbols or words; laser devices to project a message such as a crosswalk on the road ahead to indicate that it’s safe to cross; and cars that wirelessly transmit their intentions to other vehicles”, imagines the San Francisco Chronicle. For now, car manufacturers are each working on their own solutions. The next step will be to establish standardised communication methods that can be included in the official road safety rules. That means one thing: instead of trying to change their environment, self-driving cars must find the best way to adapt to it.

Read more:
“Making Autonomous Vehicles a Reality: Lessons from Boston and Beyond”, BCG, October 2017.

Next May the world’s brightest tech leaders and talents will gather together at VivaTech to celebrate today’s innovations and tomorrow’s possibilities. Last year’s speakers included French President Emmanuel Macron, Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO or Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder.

This is a unique opportunity to discover tech trends and learn from sector leaders. We will also be happy to welcome you in our exhibit space to give you some tips!

You want to join the party? Just share our Facebook post or our tweet for a chance to win 2 tickets!

Winner will be announced on 23rd Jan.

Good luck! 🍀

The rules here.

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On December 13th 2018, the French Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition opened its doors for the launch of the second season of the European Startup Prize for Mobility. Before this edition takes us from Frankfurt to Barcelona, from Brainport to Paris and Brussels (where the 2019 winners will be announced on April 11th), here are the highlights of that evening.

“We all share the conviction that innovation has an essential role to play to rise to our common challenge: building a mobility for all, that restores our territorial cohesion.” In her opening statement, French Minister for Transportation Élisabeth Borne addresses the specific challenges of the “mobility-for-all”, in that it needs to answer both “purchasing power preoccupations” and “environmental and climatic stakes.” She strongly believes that “our transitions will have to rely on technological innovations.” That is precisely why the Ministry has chosen to support the second edition of the European Startup Prize (EUSP) for Mobility: the goal is not only to innovate, but to do so by bringing together public and private actors, large corporations and startups alike.

Karima Delli, the President of EUSP for Mobility and Chairwoman of the Committee on Transport and Tourism of the European Parliament, insists on what makes the competition unique: “Creating this prize was a bet. Who would have imagined a private-public partnership, especially with European institutions?” The bet payed off: last year, 500 applications flocked from 28 countries. In 2019, the prize wants to “go further and stronger”, to keep highlighting the “28 Silicon Valleys” that are building the mobility of tomorrow — a mobility that is “inclusive, safe, connected.” For Karima Delli, the EUSP for Mobility contributes to nothing less than creating a new world, “a world of innovation and clean, useful, modern and accessible technologies, a new world in which we respect the environment.”

Political leadership and expert support

The ten finalists of the 2018 edition are proof enough. Take Sampo Hietanen, founder and CEO of MaaS Global, the company behind the all-transport-in-one app Whim in Finland, the UK and Belgium: “Transport is always political. [For MaaS, mobility as a service], the demand is here and the physical elements are here too. That means we just need to have a digital access to them. And that takes political leadership, which is what Karima Delli is doing.” Winning the prize has allowed the company to make its voice heard: “It’s like a stamp of approval that gives you more credibility.” As well as access to European tech events that would otherwise have been inaccessible. Klaxit, a carpooling platform for work-home commutes, has also seen its visibility increase significantly. Enis Mansour, who is in charge of Klaxit’s strategy, enthusiastically notes that “this is the first step to create the European Silicon Valley” — although some prefer to use the plural, because Europe doesn’t centralise innovation like California does. Éliette Vincent, co-founder of “carpooling for parcels” platform Cocolis, particularly benefited from the legal and strategy support offered by the prize’s partners. She thanks “the ever-present teams who answered our issues.”

The EUSP laureates do get support from the Boston Consulting Group, assisted by law firms Parallel Avocats and Grimaldi Studio Legale as well as Via-ID, an accelerator for mobility startups. “It is similar to what we do for our clients: we test the business model, we make recommendations for sustainable growth and we introduce them to our network of clients,” explains Lorraine Forestier, General Manager of the Mobility Nation consortium founded by the BCG. The consulting firm is also on the jury of the prize, and puts the winners in touch with partnering companies: “We have a good vision of the trends and challenges and of the complementarity between these innovators and large corporations.”

“A wonderful tool for innovation monitoring”

So what do corporations look for? Setec Ferroviaire is a new partner of EUSP for Mobility. Fabrice Drouin, its General Director, explains: “We really enjoyed the dynamism of the team, the European dimension of the prize and the possibility to meet partners from all sectors, from the biggest European actors to startups, and to see what are the most promising ideas for the future of railway transportation.” Hélène Mauguéret, Head of Development at Setec, agrees: “It is a unique opportunity to have 500 to 800 mobility startups close at hand. It is a wonderful tool for innovation monitoring.”

To be a part of this database, startups just need to apply on the EUSP for Mobility’s website. Startups from all sizes and at any development stage are welcome, as long as they innovate for sustainable mobility, says Ben Costantini, co-founder and CEO of Startup Sesame, the largest alliance of Tech events in Europe. And to be among the winners? Pierre-Louis Martinie, Head of Sales of rating agency for startups Early Metrics, gives us a few clues. Early Metrics will help the prize’s team in the selection process: ahead of the competition, to define the criteria they will be looking for, and all the way to the selection the the 50 first startups. It looks at “extra-financial criteria: the project and its team, its development and the market. It overlaps with the six criteria that the prize’s team chose,” he highlights: the team, the market, the positive social and environmental impact, the innovation, the execution and the European dimension.

That last point is important. “European startups need to believe that their playground is Europe and not just their country,” concludes Jean-François Dhinaux, Head of Strategy of Via-ID at the end of the night. Violeta Bulc, the European Commissioner for Transport, supports the statement: “An idea by itself is not enough, you need the right framework to support you. This is where the EU comes in.” For the EUSP for Mobility, the watchword is definitely “Think European”. Submissions are open until January 21st, 2019!

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As of today, European sustainable mobility startups can apply to become the European champions of tomorrow.

Paris, 13 December, 2018 – Applications for the second edition of the European Startup Prize for Mobility are now open via the website startupprize.eu until 21 January next year. This announcement came as part of the opening event held on Thursday 13 December at the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity in Paris. The event was attended by more than 300 people from the European world of mobility, including Mrs Elisabeth Borne, Minister Attached to the Ministre d’État, Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Responsible for Transports. Applications are free and are open to all startups in the mobility and transport sector within the European Union wishing to develop on a European level.

“The need for safer, more sustainable and more inclusive mobility, is a major issue for our modern societies. We created the European Startup Prize for Mobility as a response to the global challenges of mobility, with the belief that Europe must be the continent of innovation and talent for a better quality of life for all”, explains Karima Delli, President of the Committee on Transport and Tourism of the European Parliament, at the head of the initiative.

Co-founded by the Boston Consulting Group and Via ID, the European Startup Prize for Mobility aims to promote European technology startups to envision and develop innovative solutions in the field of sustainable mobility. In the long run, the objective of the prize is to help the most innovative startups to develop on the European market.

“The revolution across the mobility sector is promising but demanding. It requires close cooperation between all the actors of the ecosystem, both public and private, from the largest groups to startups. After launching Mobility Nation in 2017, BCG maintains its commitment for a strong mobility ecosystem with the European Startup Prize for Mobility to support future leaders in their European development”, explains Joël Hazan, Associate Director of the Boston Consulting Group, Fellow of the BCG Henderson Institute, and co-founder of the European Startup Prize for Mobility.

“In co-founding the EUSPM, our mission was to create the European leaders of tomorrow. We are convinced that the best solutions to the challenges we face are those that find their motivation closest to the ground, anywhere in Europe”, explains Jean-François Dhinaux, Director of Strategy at Via ID, startups accelerator in the new mobility sector.

Today’s call for participation in the project will be followed by a rigorous selection process lasting several months. In selecting the most suitable candidates, a team of experts will consider criteria such as market demand, structure of the team, the European vision of the project, and its ecological benefit.

The ten best startups selected will be unveiled during a major event in Brussels on 11 April, 2019.

After this ceremony, they will have the opportunity to participate in a tour of five large European cities later in 2019, where they will be meeting potential customers, investors, business incubators, and local partners at various ‘tech’ events.

In addition to the tour, four “super winners” will be selected to receive support to help them develop their activities in Europe and beyond. Some of these will be commercial and legal plans from the Boston Consulting Group and other legal and commercial partners of the project.

Last year, 500 startups participated in the first edition of the European Startup Prize for Mobility. One of the winners, Whim by Maas Global, notes: “The EUSPM had a booster effect on our immediate visibility, which was extended in Europe and beyond’’. ‘’Furthermore, the prize served as an excellent entry to the European market”, adds Cocolis, another winner of the first edition.

About the European Startup Prize for Mobility
Created to support the startups that develop innovations in the field of sustainable mobility, the European Startup Prize for Mobility is a major public-private initiative launched by Karima Delli, President of the Committee on Transport and Tourism of the European Parliament, and co-founded by the Boston Consulting Group and Via ID. Supported by both the European Parliament and the European Commission, as well as by influential partners such as ADP, GRDF, Europcar Mobility Group and the RATP, the program rewards the best of European innovations in the field of sustainable mobility by providing them with visibility, a network of qualified contacts, and the skills necessary to their development.