Breeze Technologies wins Porsche ideas competition
Eight ideas, five minutes, one question: What could sustainable mobility of the future look like? In the final round of the Porsche ideas competition “Mobility for a better world”, eight start-ups presented their answers to this question. At the Berlin-based start-up accelerator APX, they presented their ideas to an expert jury and the general public.
The Hamburg based start-up Breeze Technologies, which has developed a solution for monitoring and improving air quality with the help of artificial intelligence, won first place. Phantasma Labs from Berlin, Ducktrain from Aachen and Liight from Madrid also received an award. In total, more than 150 projects from all over the world applied for the competition.
Sustainability as firm component of the Porsche strategy
“As a globally operating company, we have firmly anchored sustainability in our corporate strategy. We have set ourselves comprehensive goals on this matter and are working intensely on the question of how we can shape the future of mobility — and thus, also the life on our planet,” said Daniela Rathe, Head of Politics, External Relations and Sustainability at Porsche. “As part of our ideas competition, start-ups, engineers and students were invited to present their ideas and visions at the interface of technology, mobility and sustainability.”
In addition to a total prize of 20,000 euros, the winners will receive coaching sessions and the opportunity to work together with the early-stage accelerator APX and the technology powerhouse Porsche Digital.
Environmental sensors and analysis software for better air quality in cities
Breeze Technologies was founded in 2017 by Robert Heinecke and Sascha Kuntze. The start-up from Hamburg won over the jury and the audience with its innovative environmental sensor technology and analysis software. The team focused on small, cost-effective air quality sensors that measure pollutants such as carbon and nitrogen oxides. Their cloud platform collects and visualizes data in real-time and generates hyperlocal air quality maps. Using artificial intelligence, Breeze identifies local emission sources and recommends efficient and situational measures for clean air.
“I was surprised at the range of ideas we saw. The pitches were of very high quality and overall the concepts were also very convincing,” said Robert Martin, Manager Business Planning and Partnering at Porsche Digital. “I am happy for all who have won, and I am very curious to see how the projects will develop. I hope that we will see more of one or the other idea in the near future and that they can contribute to make the world a little bit better.”
Data records from virtual worlds improve autonomous driving functions
The second place winner was Phantasma Labs from Berlin. The team used virtual worlds to produce data records that display human behavior in borderline situations. Ramakrishna Nanjundaiah and Maria Meier plan to use these to improve autonomous driving.
Ducktrain won third place: Dr. Kai Kreisköther and his team from Aachen have developed a fully electric, automatized logistics system that could supersede conventional delivery vehicles in cities.
Fourth place went to RoadEO from Spain, consisting of Carlos Rosety Alonso and Santiago Jimenez Cortes with their Gamify app Liight, which supports sustainable behavior in everyday life. App users who utilize public transport, bicycles or recycle items will be recompensed with rewards called “Liights”.
Néng from New Zealand, Third Space Auto with its solution ByDrone from Finland as well as Charger Next Door and IUPETIR from Berlin were also qualified for the final round of the competition.
Find more details on the concepts and ideas of all finalists of “Mobility for a better world“ in this blogpost. In addition to Daniela Rathe and Robert Martin, members of the expert committee also included EDISON Editor-in-Chief Franz W. Rother and Patrick Bungard, Director of the Center for Advanced Sustainable Management of the Cologne Business School and Managing Director of M3TRIX.
Porsche and sustainability
Responsible contact with people, the environment and society along the value chain — from suppliers to product recycling — is fundamental to Porsche and anchored in its corporate strategy. Their goal is to take measures over the entire life cycle of their products, taking into consideration both ecological and social responsibility aspects in order to increase the added value of the company. It is important to Porsche to continuously reduce the negative environmental impact of its business processes and products.
Detailed information on sustainability management and corporate strategy as well as on the aspects of stakeholder dialogue and key figures can be found in the current Annual and Sustainability Report of Porsche AG, as well as in the Porsche Newsroom.
About this publication: Where innovation meets tradition. There’s more to Porsche than sports cars — we’re tackling new challenges, develop digital products and think digital with focus on the customer. On our Medium blog, we tell these stories. It´s about our #nextvisions, smart technologies and the people that drive our digital journey. Please follow us on Twitter (Porsche Digital, Next Visions), Instagram (Porsche Digital, Next Visions, Porsche Newsroom) and LinkedIn (Porsche AG, Porsche Digital) for more.
