The French Minister of Transport Clément Beaune is calling on startups from all across Europe to send their applications for the next edition of Europe’s largest acceleration programme of clean mobility startups.
On 19 April, Beaune hosted the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the European Startup Prize for Mobility (EUSP).
The Prize was founded in 2018 by Karima Delli, Chairwoman of the Transport Committee in the European Parliament, together with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and tech accelerator Via ID.
The new edition brings together 17 partners who have joined forces in identifying, ranking, and boosting Europe’s most promising startups in clean mobility – those who have the highest chance of making a significant contribution to the environment and climate action, as well as contributing for a more inclusive and egalitarian society.
The partner organisations this year include the European Parliament, European Commission, European Investment Bank, EIT Urban Mobility, Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, European Climate Foundation (ECF), Europcar Mobility Group, Roland Berger, French national gas company (GRDF), Crédit Agricole Auto Bank, German Highway Authority (Die Autobahn GmbH), French Navigation Authority (VNF), public transport operator giant Groupe RATP, airport operator network Groupe ADP, Volta Trucks, and the European Clean Trucks Alliance (ECTA).
Previous editions of the European Startup Prize received 500-600 applications from all across Europe (eligible countries include both the EU + Horizon participating countries like Switzerland, UK, Israel, Norway, Ukraine, Iceland, etc.).
Given the size and scale of this year’s participating organisations, the organisers are expecting a higher number of applicants. That should not intimidate startups from applying, given that many prizes will be awarded; top 50 startups will be part of the investment programme, connecting them with institutional and private investors; top 10 will be invited to the Final Ceremony in the European Parliament in October and benefit from a three months acceleration programme, and top 3 will also receive tailored business consultancy from Roland Berger. On top, partner organisations of the Prize are each selecting one startup in a specialised category within the mobility sector.
The Opening Ceremony was broadcast by the Brussels Times as its media partner, bringing on stage VIPs and leaders from across the Prize ecosystem, including Minister Beaune, Chairwoman Delli, Vice President of the European Investment Bank Liliyana Pavlova, as well as past startup winners who shared their experience.
“At a time of climate emergency that has just been confirmed by the latest IPCC report, innovation must more than ever be a virtuous catalyst for more sustainable mobility” said Karima Delli. “The challenge for Europe is to preserve its leadership in green innovation by supporting its fabric of start-ups.
This is the whole role of the European Startup Prize for Mobility, founded five years ago, and which has established itself as an unmissable event in the news of the sustainable mobility ecosystem and which brings together a community every year increasingly important, and ever more committed institutions”.
