TU Eindhoven in lead with € 1.4 million Urban Mobility project

December 19, 2019

The consortium will help startups to develop innovative technologies to provide Urban Mobility solutions of the future.

Urban mobility is one of the toughest challenges that cities face today as existing mobility systems are close to breakdown. The world’s population is increasingly city-based. 53% of the population currently lives in urban areas and by 2050 this number is expected to reach 67%. Today, 64% of all travel is made within urban environments and the total amount of urban kilometres travelled is expected to triple by 2050.

In order to address this changing playing field in Urban Mobility many startups are working ferociously to develop innovative technologies to provide Urban Mobility solutions of the future. For these companies to succeed, they need supportive communities that help them accelerate their road to market. The consortium consisting of the Eindhoven University of Technology, Brainport Development, City of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions have been granted a € 1.4 million subsidy by EIT Urban Mobility (European Institute of Innovation and Technology). The project will run over a period of four years with each year being granted a maximum of € 350.000. The partners will pool their individual knowledge, vast network of experts, coaches and mentors, co-working spaces, access to funding and adjacent projects to provide a high value acceleration program.

The consortium

The consortium is unique in its combined capabilities covering all roles for research and development (TU Eindhoven and AMS Insitute), (international) business network (Brainport Development) and end user insight (City of Amsterdam), for which the goal of the city lies in valuable public-private partnerships. Furthermore, each of the partners have extensive urban mobility activities, network, experts and coaches that startups can benefit from.

Activities

The consortium will screen their networks for the innovative startups and scaleups in the Urban Mobility domain in two waves. By means of a Business Challenge the most promising companies and innovations are ranked on market potential and marketing approach, competitive advantage, required organization, technical solution and business financials. Those selected can expect hands-on support in accelerating their businesses in various areas by executing well planned 6-week sprints resulting in the next value adding milestone. Topics to be addressed will be: understanding the customer, building the organization, tailoring the technical product solution to market demand, and financing the business case.