The Czech Republic on the threshold of future transport. Mobility Innovation Hub is starting10/11/2022|Press releasesPersonalities from the Czech automotive, railway and aviation industries, together with representatives of key government organizations, academia and innovation infrastructure, officially launched the Mobility Innovation Hub. The aim of this hub is to effectively transfer innovations into practice by connecting the stakeholders. "Thanks to new solutions, we can respond to the current challenges in transport and improve the quality of services and infrastructure. The modernisation of the transport sector is closely linked to innovation and technological progress, which is why we support the emerging hub and will work together to develop its potential to help innovative ideas and their application in practice," says transport minister Martin Kupka. The Mobility Innovation Hub is connecting key sectors, their stakeholders and building the mobility ecosystem as such. In addition to start-ups, these are mainly established companies, scientific and research institutes, innovation centres, secondary and higher education institutions, industry associations and clusters, investors, Czech state and local government organizations and international organizations. It is part of the Technological Incubation project created thanks to the Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with the agency CzechInvest. Transport solutions require cooperation between sectors. Who is the natural partner for this is the Ministry of Transport with its operational programme Transport. The Ministry of Industry and Trade also cooperates with other ministries – with the Ministry of Regional Development on urban transport and with the Ministry of the Environment on clean transport. "With the Technology Incubation and Mobility Innovation Hub project, the Czech Republic is now joining the ranks of developed countries that actively support innovation and added value creation in the economy not only by accelerating the creation of new innovative projects, but also by strengthening the collaboration of established companies and the entire ecosystem. Taking into account the significance of the automotive industry and the strong position of domestic manufacturers of railway and aviation equipment, mobility is our priority sector," said minister of industry and trade Jozef Síkela. "The ideal place for meeting key stakeholders" The Czech Republic has already decided to support mobility in the Innovation Strategy of the Czech Republic and in the The Country for the Future project. A further commitment was also made at the 2017 Colloquium on the Future of the Automotive Industry, in the subsequent Memorandum on the Future of the Automotive Industry in the Czech Republic and the subsequent Action Plan which, among other things, commits the Czech government to the development of electromobility, autonomous driving and the digitalisation of mobility. "We created a natural and important space for key mobility stakeholders to meet. Leading representatives of the Association of the Automotive Industry and Škoda Auto as well as a number of innovation experts and other partners also contributed significantly to its preparation. The market faces many traditional and new challenges: in addition to reducing the carbon footprint and the transition to electromobility, there are rising electricity, raw material and material prices, disrupted supply and logistics chains and so on. The Mobility Innovation Hub will work with existing platforms and partners to find effective solutions and create the right conditions for accelerating innovation," said Tereza Kubicová, Deputy Minister for Technology Development at CzechInvest. In addition to supporting new innovative projects through the Technology Incubation programme, the Mobility Innovation Hub also helps more advanced start-ups expand abroad through embassies and industry associations. It helps medium-sized companies transfer know-how and assists large companies in strengthening their innovation potential. It also acts as a platform for communication between the private and public sectors and regional representatives to identify barriers to innovation and their solutions.