
The fourth edition of the Motor Valley Accelerator was recently held in Fiorano Modenese, a key event in the Motor Valley of Emilia Romagna, hosted at the Florim Gallery of Florim Ceramiche S.p.A SB, as part of EXPO 2024. This initiative represents the leading Open Innovation platform in Italy, focusing on innovation in the mobility and automotive sectors.
The Motor Valley Accelerator is the result of a collaboration between CDP Venture Capital Sgr, UniCredit, Fondazione Modena, and is managed by Plug and Play, which also invested in the initiative, along with CRIT. This edition saw an extraordinary participation, with over twenty Italian and international startups presenting groundbreaking technologies for the mobility industry.
Over its four years of operation, the initiative has supported 28 startups, contributing to the strengthening of the automotive ecosystem. Partner companies such as STMicroelectronics, Ferrari, Agrati, Dallara, Sabelt, OMR, Gruppo Hera, and UnipolSai Assicurazioni played key roles in the selection process and initiated more than 30 Proof of Concept (PoC) projects, some of which have evolved into advanced solutions.
The Motor Valley Accelerator will have invested a total of 8 million euros in startups from its portfolio, creating around 180 highly qualified jobs. Additionally, the startups have raised another 20 million euros from third-party funds (with a significant international component) and 5 million euros in non-dilutive funding.
More than 250 participants attended the event, including innovation and research & development experts from over 100 global companies. The event offered ample networking opportunities, with presentations from companies, startups, and industry experts, all united by the theme of innovation.
Enrico Dente, Director of Plug and Play Tech Center and Motor Valley Accelerator, emphasized the importance of Open Innovation for the revival of the European automotive industry, highlighting the essential role of specialized ecosystems that strategically and financially support startups to foster competitiveness and sustainability for companies.
In addition to the main event, parallel events were held, including an exclusive session for partner companies focused on challenges and best practices in launching and developing Proof of Concepts. A key moment was the meeting between venture capital funds and startups from the ecosystem, fostering direct interactions with entrepreneurs.
Key interventions during the event included a keynote by Stefano Marzani, Worldwide Tech Leader at Amazon AWS, who explored the impact of artificial intelligence on the development of automotive software. Furthermore, Nunzio Abbate from STMicroelectronics highlighted how innovation in semiconductors is crucial not only for the product but also for production processes.
The “Smart Cities and Open Innovation” panel featured Palmo Antonio Cavallo from Gruppo HERA, discussing the need for collaboration between the public and private sectors to experiment with innovative projects in Smart Cities.
Other discussions delved into the challenges of transitioning from the pilot phase to production, with insights from companies such as Dallara, Agrati, and OMR, while Linus Glowinski from Cylib presented an innovative battery recycling process.
In conclusion, Michele Bertoncello from McKinsey & Company emphasized the importance of a cultural shift in the management of the European automotive industry, stressing that innovation must be seen as an essential requirement for competitiveness.
© Press office Cavalieri Garage & Co.