Idea accelerator and futuristic lab
During the TEN-T Days 2018, the European Commission gives the opportunity to present on the Idea accelerator and futuristic lab. This will be opened by Commissioner Violeta Bulc on Wednesday 25 April at 10:30.
All TEN-T Days participants are invited to attend the Marketplace sessions: this is a great opportunity to meet new investors as well as public and private partners from across Europe. A full list of confirmed presenters will be published around 17 April.
In addition, the European Investment Project Portal has offered to set up bilateral matchmaking meetings on 25 April and 26 April.
Marketplace presentations will be made by representatives of 2 types of organisations, forming 2 categories:(1) Young innovative companies (start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs) there are still a few presentation slots available. See 'How do I apply' below (deadline 15 April 2018).
The European Commission will be assisted by an excellent jury consisting of investors and transport leaders to identify the best 3 pitches, who will get a great prize.
(2) Project promoters (such as from EU-funded projects, public and private funding and financing managers, other large investment programmes)) – the application process for this category is now closed.
Schedule for 25 April 2018:
10:30-12:30 – Opening the Future of Mobility: Idea accelerator and futuristic lab and Hackathon with Violeta Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport and Catherine Trautmann, TEN-T European Coordinator
Pitches part I: 12-15 pitches from young innovative companies and project promoters with solutions for TEN-T digital applications, quick fire Q&A
12.30 – 13.30 bilateral matchmaking meetings organized by the European Investment Project Portal (European Commission, DG ECFIN)
14.00 – 15.15 Pitches part II: 12-15 pitches from young innovative companies and project promoters with solutions for cities, quick fire Q&A
15.30 – 16.45 Pitches part III: 12-15 pitches from young innovative companies and project promoters with solutions for road safety, quick fire Q&
Schedule for 26 April 2018:
10.15 - 11.15 Pitches part IV: 12-15 pitches from young innovative companies and project promoters with solutions for decarbonisation, quick fire Q&A
11.45 – 13.00 Pitches part V: 12-15 pitches from young innovative companies and project promoters with solutions for decarbonisation and cities, quick fire Q&A
13.30 – 14.30 bilateral matchmaking meetings organized by the European Investment Project Portal (European Commission, DG ECFIN)
15.15 – 16.15 Pitches part VI: 12-15 pitches from young innovative companies and project promoters with solutions for cities and digital applications, quick fire Q&A
Opportunity for bilateral matchmaking meetings (lasting 15 minutes each) on 25 April on 12.30-13.30 and 26 April 13.30-14.30 – please register by 13 April:
The European Investment Project Portal (in EC ECFIN) has offered to set up bilateral matchmaking meetings on 25 April on 12.30-13.30 and 26 April 13.30-14.30. These will be held at the same location at the Marketplace stage. If you would like to participate, then please fill in the form by Friday 13 April. https://ec.europa.eu/eipp/myeipp/myeipp/event/Ljubljana
Marketplace: who can apply?
Applications are invited from young innovative companies (targeting mainly anyone fulfilling the EC's SME definition, i.e. fewer than 250 employees) based in EU-28 countries.
All presenting organisations should have a clear fit with the objectives of the trans-European transport network. These could be for example in digital mobility applications, more (road) safety and security, low-emission mobility and smart, liveable cities that could be applied in roads, railways, inland waterways, maritime, (air)ports, urban nodes and multimodal hubs.
Young innovative companies from category (1) will have a great incentive to participate; they will all compete for a special prize.
An international jury will select the 3 best pitches from the category of young innovative companies. One representative of each company will be offered a free trip and entry to the 2018 ITS World Congress on 17-19 September 2018 in Copenhagen. Attracting 4000+ delegates from 100+ countries, the winners could meet investors and EU policy makers, join the dedicated start-up activities and participate in state-of-the art sessions.
How do I apply?
The deadline for interested presenters from Young innovative companies has been extended until 15 April 2018 at 23.59 CET. Candidates are kindly invited to fill in this application module and simultaneously submit their presentations to the following email address:
The remaining spots will be allocated on a case by case basis to Young innovative companies that will have submitted their presentation before the abovementioned deadline.
Format of the Marketplace:
Each presenter (from category (1) or (2)) will get 3 minutes (max 3 PowerPoint slides) to present on a large pitching stage, which will be located in the conference exhibition. Next to the pitching stage, there will be a number of exhibition stands and a coffee bar with plenty of seating for further bilateral meetings and networking.
The Marketplace presentations will be listed in the programme, the website and the EC will give you plenty of social media visibility.
The 'fine print' (rules of participation):
By submitting an entry, applicants accept these rules of the TEN-T Marketplace activity and agree to comply with them.
The European Commission will have the final say in selecting the organisations that will present at the Marketplace and will assign presentation time slots (see indicative programme).
The Commission is not responsible for entries which are lost, damaged or late due to computer, network or telecommunications failure. Late entries will not be considered.
Contestants shall have sole responsibility for complying with any legal obligations incumbent on them. All personal data (such as names, addresses and other details) will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the European Union institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Details about contestants and replies to the questions in the entry form are necessary information in order to assess the entries and inform the applicants about the selection of the organisations that will present at the Marketplace.
The participants in the Marketplace grant the Commission the right to display, translate or communicate about their presentations at the Marketplace's by any medium, including on the EC's website.
By submitting an entry, contestants declare that they have obtained, or will obtain, all authorisations, consents and permissions necessary to participate in the Marketplace and comply with these terms and conditions and, to the best of their knowledge, that their entry will not infringe any intellectual property or other third party rights or breach any contractual obligation.
The Commission may cancel the Marketplace or decide not to give an award - without any obligation to indemnify contestants.
Specifically and in addition for the category of (1) 'young innovative companies', who are competing for an award (free trip to the World ITS Congress in Copenhagen):
The awards will be given one representative per presenting organisation, whose pitch best meet the 3 criteria outlined below.
Before winners of the pitching competition for young innovative companies can receive their award, the Commission will ask them to sign a declaration of honour that they are not in a position described in Articles 106 - 108 of Regulation 966/2012.
There is no monetary prize.
The European Commission will cover the travel costs of the winners in line with Commission rules on travel by the most economic means, specifically:
Winners are responsible for any other costs, including, incidental living expenses, health insurance and travel visas if needed.
Once the winners have been notified of their success, the Commission will contact them to arrange travel plans. Once contacted, winners should provide Commission (or its agency) with the information necessary to make all the arrangements within the time frames indicated.
If winners are not free to participate in the ITS World Congress in Copenhagen then the Commission will be free to select alternate winners based on their performance in the Marketplace.