In collaboration with ISDI, Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has announced the second edition of the Toyota Startup Accelerator and has launched a call for startups developing innovative solutions in the fields of mobility and sustainability. A jury formed by senior executives and experts from TME and ISDI will select up to 5 startups, which will participate in a 6-month acceleration program, starting in October of this year and powered by ISDI Accelerator, the largest entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Europe. The startups will receive funding to develop a potential collaboration or proof of concept with Toyota and present it at a Demo Day in May 2022.
Toyota continues its partnership with ISDI since the first edition of the Toyota Startup Awards, with the aim of harnessing the potential of European startups and bringing innovation to these four specific fields:
1. Mobility for all.
Toyota and ISDI are looking for: innovative micro-mobility assistance solutions that improve the lives of people with reduced mobility.
In order to: ensure that no one is left behind in mobility solutions by providing any means of transportation to anyone, anywhere.
Carbon neutral society
Toyota and ISDI are looking for: innovative solutions in the area of carbon capture and utilization (chemicals, fuels, minerals) as well as storage techniques.
In order to: go beyond zero emissions by reversing the CO2 gap and reach a carbon neutral society.
3. Circular economy of plastics
Toyota and ISDI are looking for: innovative solutions to repair, reuse and recycle plastic materials and components and circular economy models.
In order to: help address societal concerns about plastic waste by promoting initiatives to reduce the use of virgin material and increase circular economy solutions.
4. Life cycle and impact analysis
Toyota and ISDI seek: LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) tools to help product suppliers provide accurate and up-to-date solutions to make customers, and society in general, more aware of their daily footprint and impact.
In order to: help people increase awareness of the climate impact of products throughout the life cycle and provide product suppliers with more efficient and accurate assessment tools.
Winning startups will receive up to €20,000 in funding for further development of their projects and TME may offer the opportunity to engage in further cooperation.
“Toyota Startup Accelerator fully reflects our ‘Beyond Zero’ commitment to go beyond, creating innovations and initiatives that improve the movement of people, life, society and the planet. Together with ISDI Accelerator, we want to provide a launch pad for like-minded innovators like Toyota,” says Monica Perez Lobo, Sustainability and ESG Director at Toyota Motor Europe.
“We are proud to work with Toyota and participate in the revolutionary process of bringing innovation to the pursuit of mobility for anyone, anywhere and sustainable mobility ecosystems,” says Nacho de Pinedo, CEO of ISDI.
Interested startups can apply through the official Toyota Startup Accelerator website until September 14.
About ISDI Accelerator
ISDI Accelerator was born in 2014 with the aim of channeling the entrepreneurial interest of ISDI students and to energize and professionalize the startup market in Europe. Its first acceleration program, IMPACT, marked a milestone in the continent thanks to the collaboration between public entities, corporations, educational entities, investors and, of course, startups. Since then it has developed dozens of incubation and acceleration programs, created, trained and accelerated hundreds of startups and thousands of companies have applied to join its programs.ISDI Accelerator appears in the top positions of European and global rankings as one of the most important accelerators in Europe and in 2019 its IMPACT Connected Car program was chosen as the best startup acceleration project of 2019 by the European Commission.
Toyota Motor Europe
Oversees the wholesale sales and marketing of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, parts and accessories, as well as Toyota’s manufacturing and design operations in Europe. Toyota directly employs about 25,000 people in Europe, and has invested more than €10 billion since 1990. Toyota’s European operations are built around a network of 29 national marketing and sales companies in 53 countries, a total of about 3,000 dealers and nine manufacturing plants. In 2020, Toyota sold 993,113 of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe.
Toyota believes that when people have freedom of movement, anything is possible. In pursuit of “Mobility for All,” Toyota aims to create more inclusive and sustainable mobility, and a society where everyone can pursue the impossible. With a view to contributing to global environmental sustainability, Toyota has developed the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 to tackle major environmental issues.
