GLOCAL CONNECTIONS
GLOCAL CONNECTIONS
Engagement with the future of mobility broadens
to regional and international level
MCE 4x4, Italy's leading open innovation event dedicated to innovative and sustainable mobility, is strengthened this year with a new territorial partnership.
Alongside Assolombarda and Chamber of commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi, long-standing promoters, the initiative enlists Confindustria Genova, the Industrial Union of Turin and the Chambers of commerce thereto.
The purpose is to look at the northwest of the country from an ecosystem perspective, a triangle where 35% of Italian startups working in the field of mobility are based and a hub for the country's manufacturing companies.
Shift to hybrid mode for open innovation events
A completely revamped format for MCE 4×4 in 2024.
Future storming, the in-person summit where key mobility trends will be addressed, flows into the Milan Turin Genoa | Mobility Conference event to be held on April 9.
In such a setting, a new edition of the MCE 4×4 call for startups will be released, which will once again be arranged in four strategic clusters for the mobility sector: People; Deep Tech; Logistics; and Energy.
New this year will be the broadening of the call, open for the first time, to companies from other European regions.
The key focus of the initiative, the promotion of open innovation activities, will be implemented through digital events, all clustered on October 9, 2024:
- Virtual exhibition where startups will showcase their products and solutions;
- Virtual elevator pitch where startups will introduce themselves;
- Virtual tandem meetings, 20-minute each, among startups and companies, aimed at fostering partnerships and collaborations.
CALL FOR STARTUP 2024 - Glocal Connections
The title of the 2024 edition of MCE4x4 describes an initiative created at a local level yet now branching out international, spurring the power of the connections being forged through Open Innovation. The call will be an opportunity for Italian and non-Italian startups to come together, pitching solutions for services to people on the move, physical and digital data security, green and safe freight movement, green energy.
MCE4x4 PEOPLE
Eco-friendly solutions enhancing transportation systems and services for people on the move, including innovative systems for connectivity, accommodation, digital documents, payment systems, power banks, multimodal platforms, mobility sharing systems and corporate pooling of traditional vehicles and alternative micro-mobility means (e.g: bike sharing); solutions improving social inclusion, addressing mobility of people with disabilities, children, elderly, families, vulnerable persons; solutions for m-health, i.e., mobile healthcare; supporting technologies and human-machine interfaces dedicated or applicable to mobility; urban travel tech; infotainement.
MCE4X4 DEEP TECH
Artificial intelligence applications for mobility and enterprise fleet management of traditional or micro-mobility vehicles; solutions for cybersecurity of systems that manage mobility and transportation, personal, corporate, public; AI of the connected car and IOT systems; solutions for smart city infrastructure; systems for secure mobile data management and collection; software for personal data protection in sharing mobility; open data and AI for traffic flows; in general, software, systems, products applicable to data and security management of transportation systems and people and freight in mobility.
MCE4X4 LOGISTICS
Technologies, services, solutions capable of improving the efficiency, environmental impact and cost system of freight movement; new frontiers of delivery means (drones etc.); automation; logisticsApp; collaborative platforms; document dematerialization (smart contracts); contract logistics and green logistics solutions; bike-mobility solutions (e.g., cargo bikes); zero-impact delivery platforms; Fleet & Freight Management solutions.
MCE4X4 ENERGY
New energy carriers for mobility; technologies for electric engines and green hydrogen supply chain; energy efficiency solutions for mobility; new types of fuels (example: SAF Sustainable Aviation Fuel); biofuels; innovative batteries; energy optimization software for smart homes and smart cities; traditional or innovative engines and means of transportation that can improve energy efficiency or make use of clean energy for transportation; sustainable micro-mobility solutions (e.g., e-bikes) for individuals and businesses.
THE 2024 SELECTION
A shortlist of 16 finalists will be chosen from all the Startups that apply:
4 Startups for each of the 4 topic areas, with the jury holding the right to make changes to this distribution based on the applications received. The short-listed Startups will be invited to take part in the event where they can meet corporations interested in their solutions. The projects will be evaluated by a scientific committee, chosen from representatives of Assolombarda and Chamber of commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi, Genoa Confindustria, the Industrial Union of Turin and the Chambers of commerce thereto, partners and experts in the mobility ecosystem who will judge based on criteria of innovation, level of development, sustainability and extent of positive impact on mobility.
See the regulations for further details.
IN SHORT
Benefits and acknowledgements
The benefits for selected startups will provide acknowledgement and visibility, meeting potential investors, industry or business partners, other startups to collaborate with, increasing their chances of impact and success.
Short-listed startups will be invited to hold a virtual pitch featuring the initiative's promoters and ecosystem companies, and Italian startups will be eligible for free InnovUp membership, for one year, worth €150 for seed startups and €500 for scaleups.
Startups based outside Italy will be eligible for free enrollment in Founders Academy, an online (12 classes for 24 hours total) and English-language training course worth €500.
In summary
- Call for startups: apply April 9 to June 9!
- Virtual Exhibition and Pitch: share your solution as finalist startup on October 9!
- Virtual Tandem meeting: meet companies at the virtual event on October 9.
- Free one-year membership to Innovup for Italian stratups
April 9 to June 9, 2024 (by 11:59 p.m.)
Applications
June 2024
The panel evaluates projects
July 2024
Finalists disclosure
October 9, 2024
Virtual Event Pitch & Exhibition Tandem Meeting
Advisor
