- The team has won thanks to its idea based on optimising electric vehicle charging.
- The final occurred during the European Week of Regions and Cities, the main annual regional and urban policy event.
Brussels, 14/10/2024. The team E-LAB: CITY 5.0 has won the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON, an initiative boosted by the Finnova Foundation. The team formed by Matías Esoín, Jordi Sánchez, María Morillas and Celia Sánchez won the final held last October 8 in the Albert Borschette Congress Center (Brussels, Belgium), framed in the European Week of the Regions and Cities.
This team has achieved victory thanks to their idea based on the first challenge of this Accelerathon, which sought ideas that optimize the charging of electric vehicles through intelligent solutions. E-LAB: CITY 5.0 is an innovative project aimed at transforming urban infrastructure through the integration of smart technologies, sustainable energy solutions, and IoT-based monitoring systems. By focusing on optimizing urban spaces, the idea enables both public and private sectors to reduce energy consumption, improve operational efficiency, and contribute to environmental sustainability.
This idea is designed to be financially sustainable, scalable, and adaptable across different urban settings. On the one hand, it envisions the installation of EV charging stations and public bike-sharing docks, fostering the smart city infrastructure. Second, the team proposes the development of real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance of public and private infrastructure to reduce energy usage and improve performance, taking advantage of an IoT platform. Finally, the idea develops a hybrid financing model that integrates urban advertising with infrastructure, allowing for revenue generation to cover operational costs.
Finnova, committed to innovation
Finnova Foundation, as organiser of both RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON and the final event in Brussels, will work with E-LAB: CITY 5.0 to develop their idea. Finnova will advise the winning team to turn their proposal into a pilot program eligible for one of the funding programs of the European Commission. Also, the team will receive support from the foundation to attend events that will allow them to present their idea to interested agents.
From the Foundation we celebrate the resounding success of this ideas accelerator, in which more than 50 participants divided into 17 teams have worked for months with their program mentors and Finnova Foundation staff to develop their ideas. The event was a great success, bringing together regional and municipal representatives, the European Parliament and a wide range of experts in electric mobility, land management, green hydrogen production and grey water revalorization. In addition, the event was part of the European Week of Regions and Cities, forming part of an ecosystem in which the ability of regions and cities to grow by implementing EU cohesion policies has been discussed. Finnova is proud to occupy these relevant spaces, demonstrating the impact of our initiatives and our willingness to cooperate in the green transition and decarbonization of cities.
The event in a nutshell
Apart from the winners, the finalists teams of the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON HYBRIGHT and DROPS were also able to present their ideas that led them to the final. The Portuguese team HYBRIGHT, represented by João Diaz, Luis Alves and Ricardo Coelho, presented their idea focused on biogas splitting for CO2-negative hydrogen production, producing green hydrogen with a negative carbon footprint. The DROPS team, represented by Eduvigis Sardà, presented their proposal based on an interactive educational platform to educate and raise awareness on greywater use, as well as implementing and expanding sustainable practices. Lastly, the Uaque Maloka team could not attend in person but was able to intervene online to present their pilot project of efficient irrigation systems and management of organic fertilizers for urban gardens in West Ciudad Salitre, Bogota DC (Colombia).
The finalists had the opportunity to meet first-hand the European representatives of the various branches of this Accelerathon, representatives who were also able to speak at the ceremony. Raphaël Héliot, Policy Manager in the European Association of Electromobility (AVERE), showcased the situation in Europe regarding the presence and use of electric vehicles, emphasising the effects of V2X technology and smart changing that can lead the EU to become a global leader in this industry. Katarina Muse, Manager for Regional Pillar and Skills in Hydrogen Europe, explained the objectives of the EU in green hydrogen production, detailing the current production costs for the general public and presenting several agreements it has with different associations to support this industry. Finally, Alessandro Argo, Project Officer in Water Europe, presented the Water-Oriented Living Labs, which implement innovative actions related to water management and explained the examples of cities such as Mechelen (Belgium) and Lisbon (Portugal), that are implementing solutions aligned with resilient water management.
This event, framed as a RES4CITY Global Reach Hub event, had the presence of Charlie Lamento as a representative of the hub and GHNI, partner of the project. Lamento presented a range of educational micro-programmes and micro-credentials that RES4CITY will launch soon; programmes that will serve to upscale the labour force for green transition, and presented the Global Reach Hub to let stakeholders join this network. Also, as representative of the consortium and the organizer of both events and RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON, the event was moderated by Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation. Revuelta took advantage to present the initiative to the attendees and focused its participation on the opportunity that the Accelerathon has brought for participants to build bridges with stakeholders worldwide.