Cactus, Drukatt, Hypervisoul and Wipass, startups and SMEs winners of the first edition of the Antena TrenLab awards on sustainable mobility

The winning projects of the first edition of the Antena Trenlab Awards were announced this Thursday in Mataró as part of the Night of Entrepreneurship. These are awards that have been born from the collaboration between Renfe, Mataró City Council and TecnoCampus with the aim of promoting innovative solutions that solve challenges in the railway sector.

Thanks to the financial endowment, which amounts to a total of €150.000, the four winning companies they will enter a six-month acceleration program which includes the possibility of test the solution in the territory of Mataró and the Maresme. In this first edition of the Antena TrenLab awards s'have presented a total of 33 projects in the four open categories.

During the awards ceremony, the general director of Development and Strategy of Renfe, Manel Villalante, explained that "the three entities that are part of this first Antena TrenLab share a common goal of public interest, which is the promotion of open innovation, the creation of new technological solutions, the creation of local employment and the involvement of the citizens of the Maresme region in the creation of new models of mobility and values ​​aimed at environmental improvements associated with transport, betting on its achievement through the fulfillment of gender equality objectives".

Winners of the first edition of the Antena TrenLab Awards

CACTUS, winner of the "Smart Railway Station" Operational Challenge award

The company's "Smart Neighborhoods" project CACTUS, based in Barcelona, ​​has been the winner of the "Smart Railway Station" Operational Challenge, aimed at promoting technological solutions at stations in order to offer customers Renfe Rodalies more valuable information about the environment of your travels.

The project proposes a sustainable IoT device network and technology platform with the ability to provide real-time information of interest to passengers such as environmental characteristics (CO₂, temperature, humidity, PMs to determine air quality, VOC...), train occupancy and real-time position of these that provide valuable information to both the service operator and users.

WIPASS, winner of the "Customer Happiness" Operational Challenge award

The startup Wipass, located at the TecnoCampus in Mataró, has been awarded the "Customer Happiness" Operational Challenge award, which sought to help improve interaction constant with the customer and implement improvements in the service and in the daily operation of Renfe Rodalies.

Under the title “Phygital experience”, Wipass proposes to unify digitization and accompany the user from the beginning to the end of their journey, offering a unique and connected experience with Renfe. And, at the same time, Renfe will be able to obtain relevant information about the experience, interaction and satisfaction of passengers, once the service ends.

The implementation of Wipass at Renfe stations and on short, medium and long-distance trains will make it possible to offer valuable information about the environment of your travels, such as special offers according to your destination, tourist information about the area and even offer other services. In addition, during the journey, the user will be able to receive information of interest such as deficiencies, data on the destination or arrival time through notifications push without the need to download an application.

DRUKATT, winner of the "3D Rail" Operational Challenge award

The company Drukatt, based in Rubí, has been the winner of the "3D Rail" Operational Challenge, focused on introducing 3D printing technology for its adoption in the railway sector as a competitive and sustainable alternative to traditional manufacturing methods.

Drukatt has presented an innovative project in the manufacture of industrial spare parts through design and additive manufacturing in the shortest possible time. It wants to integrate all the necessary actors through training and workshops that allow generating a learning process in relation to 3D printing.

HYPERVISOUL, winner of the Disruptive Challenge award “Keep it Open!”

The project "Dear small train", from the startup Hypervisoul with a team straddling Badalona, ​​France, Chile and the USA, has emerged as the winner of the Disruptive Challenge "Keep it Open!" award, which was looking for solutions not yet widely implemented in the railway sector based on new technologies or disruptive trends in the sector.

Hypervisoul develops technologies for the implementation of the first traffic management system for connected and automated vehicles by taking advantage of the technological frameworks that represent the new telecommunications networks and connected and automated vehicles. The solution will allow mobility with zero accidents and zero congestion; it will have a positive impact on the environment and bring economic wealth to the territories.

The startup proposes adapt its solution to operate fleets of light and automated vehicles on rural railway lines and create on-demand transport services for passengers and goods, turning these train lines into interesting alternatives for citizens and transport operators such as Renfe.

Projects with a future

The winning companies of the Operational Challenges will receive 40.000 euros, while the winner of the Disruptive Challenge will receive 30.000 euros. This contribution will allow them to develop their project throughout the acceleration program for a maximum of six months, and have the possibility to test it in the territory of Mataró and the Maresme.

All of them will have access to the TecnoCampus park and a dedicated workplace at the Antena TrenLab headquarters, located in the same park. Antena TrenLab is born in Mataró with the desire to turn the city into a Living-Lab, to test and develop business projects around sustainable mobility.

The winning projects will be advised by a network of mobility experts and mentors during the acceleration program that will start on January 15, 2023. Support will also be given to the search for investment, as well as to the promotion of the project.