The GreenTech Festival serves as a platform to showcase future-forward green innovations, and to foster discussions through the Green Leaders Conference, gathering key actors of the mobility, energy and science industries, discussing on the implementation of sustainable technologies.
Technology is the key to further penetration of new mobility trends such as autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification, and smart mobility, which are currently shifting the business models of traditional companies, opening the door for new players. This framework set the scenario for the participation of the FIA with Jean Todt’s keynote speech on “Innovations in Road Safety”, and the FIA Smart Cities Session focusing on how to foster sustainable mobility through emerging start-ups.
In the first edition of the GreenTech Festival, FIA President spoke about how innovations, both in the policy-making and the technology advancement areas, are vital to improve the global road safety performance. Jean Todt developed on the innovation transfer from track to road, coming from FIA Championships and the creation of new financial instruments to close the significant funding gap for road safety. “By reducing fatalities on the road, by creating more resilient and smart urban infrastructure, by unlocking new technologies, we can ensure that the future of mobility is sustainable, safe and inclusive”, he said.
President Todt also joined EU Commissioner for Mobility and Transport, Violeta Bulc, who spoke about “Connecting the EU more effectively within”.
The involvement of the FIA was also featured through the FIA Smart Cities Session, gathering key actors of the Smart Cities ecosystem, who take a leading position in boosting the role of start-ups in shaping the future of safe, sustainable and accessible mobility. From innovative creators and accelerators of mobility start-ups to Formula E partners, this session hosted an interactive panel discussion. Joaquin Gabarron, Executive Director of Bank Julius Baer and Motorsport Advisor; Matt Lashmar, Managing Director of MassChallenge Switzerland; and Adam Woolway, Managing Director and co-founder of PlugSurfing, joined the panel on “The crucial role of emerging start-ups in shaping the future of sustainable mobility”, moderated by United Smart Cities Advisory Board Member, André Felker.
The panel discussion was followed by pitch presentations of three competitive start-ups selected during the 2019 FIA Smart Cities Global Start-Up Contest, namely US-based Ridecell (cloud platform for car-sharing, ride-sharing & autonomous ride hailing), and German start-ups TWAICE (digital twin-based battery analytics software) and MOTIONTAG (providing a single data source for all mobility modes).