Rotterdam has been selected as the host city for the Mobility City Campus

05/10/19

The city of Rotterdam has been selected as the host city for The Mobility City Campus. Mobility City Campus is an ambitious project with a global impact and a truly pioneering ideology. The goal is to bring together into one single location all of the stakeholders of the mobility (transportation) ecosystem, which will go to produce and showcase some of the most cutting-edge innovation that will shape the way people and cargo move for the next decades to come. Finnish investment business Avanto Ventures and the city of Rotterdam formalised their collaboration Friday May 10th during the leading innovation congress The Next Web in Amsterdam.

The Municipality of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Partners will assist Avanto Ventures in developing the campus. “The Mobility City Campus is a global concept that brings together all of the major players in the field of mobility. The aim is to experiment, inspire, create, experience and market new mobility concepts on land, at sea and in the air. Bringing all of the relevant European players together in one physical location and having them work together with the local innovative ecosystem will result in a world-class mobility ecosystem. The concept also focuses on testing, experiencing and sharing. And this allows Rotterdam residents to become familiar with innovations, which should speed up the adaptation process during use,’ says Vice Mayor Barbara Kathmann (Economy), applauding the arrival of the Mobility City Campus.

Rotterdam a leader in mobility innovation in Europe

Finnish firm Avanto Ventures had previously stated that it wanted to establish the campus in Rotterdam. After the business recently conducted a feasibility study that yielded favourable results, it confirmed the construction of the campus. As Antti Rantanen, founder of Avanto Ventures, says: ‘Rotterdam is one of the largest logistic hubs in the world and has a neutral position in the mobility industry. The feasibility study shows that the slogan ‘Make it Happen’ is not only a marketing slogan for the city but really means something to the city. Over fifty pilot projects in the mobility field are currently taking place within the Municipality of Rotterdam, from autonomous pilot projects at Rotterdam Airport to a hydrogen production facility at the Port of Rotterdam. Rotterdam also conducted the ‘MaaS’ (Mobility as a Service) transportation experiment, during which one hundred Rotterdam residents were selected to use discounted public transport, ride sharing and other transportation services for six months while leaving their car at home as much as possible. From our perspective, Rotterdam is a mobility city: this volume of mobility pilot projects within one region makes Rotterdam one of the leaders of mobility innovation in Europe.’

A driving force for Rotterdam’s economy

Rotterdam has the ambition to be the frontrunner in Smart Mobility. This contains gathering and sharing information in a more efficient way. The city is open to innovation and does that by allowing different types of pilots for mobility related initiatives. The emphasis lies on sustainable and green innovations to create healthy mobility for everyone. According to Kathmann, the Mobility City Campus has the potential to become a driving force to further strengthen Rotterdam’s economy. ‘In order to prepare for the future, we have to let go of the past and go with the times. This requires a new economy that is digital, sustainable and circular. Mobility is one of the first areas in which this new economy is becoming visible. The world of mobility is rapidly changing. The municipality supports initiatives such as the Mobility City Campus because they help implement mobility innovations. The aim is for the campus to strengthen our business climate for both Dutch and international businesses, attract talent and boost employment. It is also a textbook example of how the business community, knowledge institutions and the government can work in close collaboration to innovate and advance our city’s economy.’

Schedule

Avanto Ventures will be working hard to open the campus by mid-2021. The first two challenges will be presented at the Greentech Festival (23-25 May 2019) in Berlin, which the Mobility City Campus will be tackling together with a number of large international businesses.

Avanto Ventures
Avanto Ventures is a corporate venturing agency based in Northern Europe. Avanto has helped customers in various industries find new paths of growth and innovation by working with the growth business sector. Avanto builds new ventures, operates innovation labs and sets up ecosystem programmes that make a positive impact on the people and the planet.

Photos: Iris van den Broek

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More information

For more information, please contact:

Judith Boer Press Officer +31 (0)10 790 00 154
j.boer@rotterdampartners.nl

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