Brussels,
28
June
2022
|
10:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Toyota Startup Accelerator winners impress with their sustainable and inclusive innovations

Summary

·       Kicked off in July 2021, the second edition of Toyota’s Startup Accelerator in Europe seeks innovative solutions in Sustainability and Mobility for All

·       5 winning startups pitched their Proof of Concept to investors, media and executives of Toyota Motor Europe (TME) and its partner ISDI on the Demo Day

·       Toyota Startup Accelerator brings together innovative approaches & new thinking of startups and the knowhow & scale opportunities of established corporations

Brussels, 28 June, 2022 – The journey started with the open call by Toyota Motor Europe (TME) to recruit startups developing innovative solutions for Sustainability and Mobility for All in July ‘21, in collaboration with ISDI Digital Business School.

In October ’21, the 10 most innovative startups were selected from around 150 applications, originating from over 40 countries. Next, these 10 companies went into the bootcamp, which was designed to further hone their business skills and projects. The programme focused on hands-on interactive learning with entrepreneurs, C-level executives and Toyota experts in various areas such as agile product design, working with corporations, talent scouting, Intellectual Property Rights, internationalisation strategy and more.

At the end of the bootcamp in December ’21, 5 winning startups were chosen to proceed to the 6-month final acceleration phase. Using funds granted by Toyota as well as close support from business mentors and Toyota Guides, they developped their Proof of Concepts.

Last week, their year-long journey culminated with a Demo Day pitch in front of investors, media and executives from Toyota and ISDI.

For Toyota it is key to remain innovative in this fast changing world. We look at what is good for Toyota as well as for society overall, especially in the fields of Sustainability and Inclusive Mobility. Startups are true game changers with their innovative technologies. As a large company we can help them to scale their solutions while we learn and become more innovative ourselves. That is what makes this Toyota Startup Accelerator program fantastic.

Kylie Jimenez, Senior Vice President TME People & Innovation, Information, Technology & Digital and Corporate Affairs

The 5 best innovators of the Toyota Startup Accelerator 2nd Edition share their takeaways

  
    revolve wheel

The world’s first active wheelchair that fits the standards of an universal cabin luggage size restriction

"Toyota Startup Accelerator has helped us take more than one step forward on a clear path towards the most important goal, which is to achieve strategic partnerships, collaborations and PoCs with airlines, athlete organisations and Toyota . This created the opportunity to demonstrate the potential of Revolve wheelchair to early adopters, receive further feedback and make it a market-ready product. In effect, new possibilities open up in terms of business model and future strategy." Andrea Moccelin, Founder & CEO Revolve Wheel

  hysilabs-logo

Enabling massive hydrogen logistics for all kinds of applications 

"We aim to revolutionize the hydrogen value chain and decarbonize mobility. The gaseous state of hydrogen makes its storage and transportation difficult. Our liquid carrier is a game changer in this because hydrogen can be transported via the existing infrastructures.” Pierre-Emmanuel Casanova , Co-Founder HySiLabs

   purcity ñlogo

Turning buildings into large scale CO2 capture air purifiers

"The Toyota Startup Accelerator has been generating great values and impact for us, from commercializing aspects to connection with a hand-picked team of efficient expert advisors and mentors. They have been helping us a lot to further develop our business and be better prepared to negotiate upcoming large scale projects. This accelerator has also allowed us to implement and validate the 3rd generation of our commercialized panels (GapS 3.0) and related system - that has boosted our growth." Morteza G. Eftekhar, Founder & CEO PurCity

cargatucoche logo

Platform providing residential charging services in the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem

“The Toyota Startup Accelerator has really helped us think about how to scale our solutions both within our home market, Spain, as well as internationally. Both the expertise we have been able to access and a possible Proof of Concept opportunity with Toyota have been key in our growth plan." James Dress, Chief Sales Officer CargaTuCoche

microwave solutions gmbh logo

Enhancing recycling of complex mixed waste

“With Toyota Startup Accelerator we have gained deep insights into the automotive industry, access to critical expert advice and additional PoC data. This is allowing us to further shape our solution to be best fit to unleash sustainability and circular economies for highly complex products." Florian Turk, Co-Founder & CEO Microwave Solutions GmbH

Toyota continues its journey towards happiness for all

It was very inspiring for me today to feel the passion and spirit of all these startups. Attending their pitches, I am sincerely convinced that we achieved what we were looking for: finding ways to contribute to society through sustainable innovation. And although we need to weigh elements such as the business model, KPIs and return on investment, in essence this is about so much more. It is about helping to create a better world. This is a journey we are on together, and in which startups like the ones we have seen today play a major role."

Monica Perez Lobo, Head of TME Sustainability & ESG

About ISDI Accelerator

ISDI Accelerator was founded at ISDI, the leading digital business school in Spain in 2014 with the aim of channeling the entrepreneurial efforts of ISDI students into Europe’s startup ecosystem by facilitating collaboration between public entities, corporations, educational entities, investors, and founders. Since its inception, ISDI Accelerator has developed dozens of incubation and acceleration programs that have helped accelerate hundreds of startups and thousands of companies. ISDI Accelerator appears at the top of the European and global rankings, and in 2019 its IMPACT Connected Car program was chosen as the best startup acceleration project that year by the European Commission.

Note to editors:

Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA (TME) oversees the wholesale sales and marketing of Toyota, GR (GAZOO Racing) and Lexus vehicles and parts and accessories, as well as Toyota’s European manufacturing and engineering operations. Toyota directly employs over 27,000 people and has invested over EUR 10 billion in Europe since 1990. Its nine European manufacturing plants are located in Portugal, the UK, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey and Russia. Today, there are approximately 16.5 million Toyota, GR and Lexus vehicles on European roads, whose drivers are supported by a network of 28 National Marketing and Sales Companies and around 2,800 retail sales outlets in 53 countries (EU, UK, EFTA countries + Russia, Israel, Turkey and other Eastern European countries). In 2021, TME sold 1,076,300 vehicles in Europe for a 6.4% market share. For more information, visit Facts & Figures (toyota.eu)  and www.toyota-europe.com

 Toyota believes that when people are free to move, anything is possible. In the pursuit of "Mobility for All", Toyota aims to create safer, more connected, inclusive and sustainable mobility to achieve its mission of producing “Happiness for All”. In Europe, TME launched the KINTO mobility brand which offers a range of mobility services in 14 countries, and is growing its business-to-business sales of zero-emission fuel cell products and engineering support. Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Toyota is working to achieve carbon neutrality in its entire business across Europe. A historic leader in CO2 reduction in Europe, TME aims to achieve 100% CO2 reduction in all new vehicles in Western Europe by 2035 and will continue to offer a full range of electrified powertrains to customers across the region with its hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery and fuel cell electric vehicles. When it comes to sustainability, Toyota is committed to going Beyond Zero.