Spain’s state-run railway company Renfe, together with Telefonica’s Wayra, announce the launch of the TrenLab startup incubator and accelerator at South Summit.
Renfe’s new accelerator will be developed over the next two years and seeks to promote the digital transformation of the company and strengthen its position in the sector, El Referente reported on Thursday.
TrenLab was launched under an open formula of collaboration in the development of disruptive ideas that add new value in the mobility and transport market as a central part of Renfe’s activities.
Read More: Renfe to launch startup incubator and accelerator with support of Wayra
Inês Oliveira
TrenLab will open the deadline for applications on October 15 and look for companies in the initial phases of business in three areas: digital mobility, digitalization of operations, and logistics demands, as explained at South Summit 2018 by Inés Oliveira, from Wayra.
Read More: Wayra accelerator gets a complete makeover, will focus on ‘more mature’ startups
The program will have a prize of up to 50,000 euros in financing, to which is added the possibility of Renfe or Wayra investing in the ‘startup’, which is in addition to a development program of between six and nine months and access to the network of spaces for entrepreneurs of Wayra, distributed by 10 countries.
Presenting at South Summit, Renfe president Isaías Táboas explained that mobility “will change substantially” and, in this scenario, the railway operator wants to be leading the way in this sector.
The new TrenLab will promote business initiatives in the initial stages, allow incorporating knowledge to the company, increase the speed of adaptation to the current technological environment, and advance in the digital transformation of the railway system while always taking the needs of customers and users into account.
Digitization is at the center of the objectives that TrenLab will tackle to explore areas such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Blockchain, artificial intelligence solutions and Big Data. The acceleration program to be promoted is aimed at any project that is in the beginning stages, with a vocation for growth, innovative character and compatible with the Renfe Group.
What Lies Ahead for TrenLab
Faced with the effects that the digital revolution is producing in the transport and mobility market, TrenLab is launching three major business challenges to the innovation and entrepreneurship community, according to EFEemprende:
- Digital Mobility
- Digitalization of Operations
- Logistics Demand
Digital Mobility is part of the new era in which the client and the operators seek agile and personalized services, with easy access to information and attentive to the needs and opportunities that arise during a trip. Reinventing the travel experience is part of this challenge, for which projects are sought in areas such as Mobility as a Service, multimodal planning, new sales and payment systems, integration of Blockchain technology into the value chain of mobility and tourism, as well as communication with the traveler throughout the travel cycle.
The Digitalization of Operations points to the need to take full advantage of the possibilities of digital technologies to manage operations in real time, in connection with the expectations incorporated into the first challenge. It is about knowing what new digital capabilities can transform Renfe operations increasing efficiency in areas such as planning, multimodal demand prediction and, in general, throughout the railway operation cycle (workshops, machinists, crew, stations , etc).
In third place, with Logistics Demands, Renfe seeks to adapt its logistics supply flexibly to the demand for freight transport, taking into account the flows and needs for each type of traffic. The challenge seeks projects in areas such as dynamic supply planning by applying technology such as big data, artificial intelligence, localization and tracking, digitalization of processes, creation of a logistics Marketplace, and last mile solutions.
