Winners of Toyota Startup Accelerator pitch their ideas to investors

 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

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." said 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

• 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." said Andrea Moccelin, Founder & CEO Revolve Wheel.

• 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.” said Pierre-Emmanuel Casanova , Co-Founder HySiLabs.

• 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." said Morteza G. Eftekhar, Founder & CEO PurCity.

• 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." said James Dress, Chief Sales Officer CargaTuCoche

• 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." said 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." said Monica Perez Lobo, Head of TME Sustainability & ESG.

This article was first published on 28 June by Toyota Motor Europe.