CLEPA Innovation Awards 2019

CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, organised on Thursday 13th of June for the 4th time in a row the CLEPA Innovation Awards Gala at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels.

The CLEPA Innovation Awards competition, organised in cooperation with Deloitte, celebrates outstanding achievements in the European automotive supply industry in the fields of Environment, Safety, Connectivity and Automation, and Cooperation.

Innovation is becoming even more important, especially in a year of important changes. With a new Parliament and soon a new Commission, the European Union is about to start a new phase. One of the key challenges that will need to be tackled is how to guarantee safe, clean, and affordable mobility for European society.

Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General said: “For industry, clarity of vision includes most and for all a commitment to strengthening the EU as a location for competitive businesses and sustainable manufacturing. This requires a reliable legal and policy framework and, in the case of the automotive sector, a supportive context for transport and mobility in particular: think infrastructure for connectivity and renewable energy. Policy makers and industry together must reinforce education and training to provide the skills needed for the industry of tomorrow. And Europe should step up its coordinated funding efforts for research and innovation which support strategic objectives of sustainability, security and digitalisation.”

In this context, forward-thinking ideas that can substantially improve the quality, efficiency and safety of mobility should be encouraged and made more visible. This is the main purpose of the CLEPA Innovation Awards.

Around 160 attendees from participating and winning companies enjoyed a cocktail reception followed by a delightful gala dinner with representatives from the European institutions and stakeholders from other organisations in the mobility sector.

This competition is open for automotive supply industry companies of all sizes and recognises innovation in the fields of: Connectivity & Automation – Cooperation – Safety – Environment. A panel of 8 judges, all renowned in their field, evaluated the proposals based on 4 criteria: Ambition (what is the potential of the innovation), Market relevance (cost-effectiveness, added value to consumers), Impact (long-term effects) and Quality.

The gala dinner was opened by the video participation of Violeta Bulc, Commissioner for Transport. In her words: “I have always had a huge admiration for innovators. In fact, I have made innovation one of the cornerstones of EU transport policy. But, with that elevated position comes responsibility. We are counting on innovation to fully exploit the new valued drivers, especially digitalisation, which is already revolutionising transport. Innovation and safety technologies are key technologies to help us improve road safety in the EU”.

This year, Bosch won the first prize in Connectivity and Automation for its Vehicle localisation system. APTIV was awarded in the Cooperation category for its Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform, which also won the third prize for Safety. In Environment, MAHLE’s eCooling system for electric vehicles convinced the jury, while Joyson Safety Systems won in the Safety category with their Far Side Airbag.

SEE ALL THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS HERE