Powered by start-up accelerator MassChallenge Switzerland, the FIA Smart Cities Global Start-up Contest aims to identify and support promising mobility-focused start-ups from three regions (the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific).

Season 5 received more than 300 applications from which 18 start-ups were selected to take part in the pitching phase. On 19 October, the six start-ups chosen for Asia-Pacific had the chance to present their project to a jury of international Mobility experts including representatives from FIA Smart Cities partners and Mobility Member Clubs.

The Asia-Pacific edition shed light upon various solutions to address some of the main challenges of urban mobility as well as the need to improve user experience. The presented projects included a micromobility management platform, the production of new types of bikes for more functional cycling, but also a technology to assess road conditions, a device to resolve mobility and accessibility issues for disabled people, and the development of autonomous robotic vehicles.

After deliberation, the Jury chose the Indian start-up RACEnergy as the winner of the last edition of Season 5. To facilitate the switch to electric mobility, RACEnergy has developed swappable batteries and swappable battery packs that can be used to retrofit vehicles at a low price and aims to create a network of battery swapping stations. For now, RACEnergy is targeting developing countries and the 3-wheeler segment and wants to set up a dense network, firstly across South India, with 500 stations by mid-2023 and 1,000 stations by the end of 2023.  

Visit RACEnergy’s website to learn more.