13 new start-ups land at the Rome Fiumicino’s Innovation Hub

Posted: 13 October 2023 | International Airport Review | No comments yet

13 new start-ups land at the Rome Fiumicino’s Innovation Hub, selected among the 116 companies that responded to the second ‘Call for Ideas’ launched by Aeroporti di Roma last December.

On the occasion of the induction event of start-ups from all over the world – Aeroficial Intelligence, A&K Robotics, ArgosAI, Auxilia, Designhubz, Essential Aero, Guimu Robot, HamsaID, Matroid, ReLearn, Proteso, Wintics and ZestIOT – the Innovation Cabin Crew of Aeroporti di Roma organised three workshops on the future challenges of the three most important airport trends: passenger experience, airport security and process automation. During the day it was also possible for guests invited to the event to have one-to-one meetings with the start-ups and members of the Innovation Cabin Crew.

“We are celebrating the launch of the second acceleration programme of Aeroporti di Roma”, said Emanuele Calà, Vice President Innovation and Quality of ADR. “We have over 70 colleagues from all over the world: airports, airlines and startups representing three continents and over 20 nationalities, who are gathered here to attend the presentation of the 13 projects that will be developed in the Innovation Hub at Fiumicino Terminal 1, together with startups, partners and members of the Innovation Cabin Crew of Aeroporti di Roma”.

The startuppers settled at the Innovation Hub in Fiumicino, Italy’s first industrial accelerator in the aviation sector, will have to solve the eight challenges proposed by the second Call for Ideas over the next six months: predictive maintenance, enhance terminal processes, improve airside operations, passenger experience, community and sustainability, environmental impact, commercial opportunities, disruptive solutions.

To realise this second round of the acceleration programme, Aeroporti di Roma has provided not only greater economic support, up to EUR 105,000, but – against a positive outcome of the projects – the possibility for the start-ups to count on potential business opportunities of up to EUR 2 million and support for future investment rounds thanks to the financial support of ADR Ventures, a corporate vehicle set up by ADR to start up Corporate Venture Capital activities. This is the first initiative of its kind in the air transport sector in Italy and is aimed at financing the development of projects in areas with high innovation potential. Among the main objectives of the new company are the management of investments in the capital of start-ups, the monitoring of companies in which investments have been planned, and the identification through dedicated scouting of potential target companies, characterised by growth prospects and functional to the realisation of new services and solutions to build, together with Aeroporti di Roma, the airport of the future.

ADR has chosen to focus on the creation of an innovation model – both outward-looking and inward-looking – that is based on the dissemination of the culture of open innovation to facilitate the development of an ecosystem based on cooperation with large companies, industrial groups, academic institutions and start-ups that share the same goals of energy and digital transition. To further strengthen the international network dedicated to innovation, during 2022 Aeroporti di Roma launched and promoted together with AENA, the world’s leading airport operator in terms of number of passengers, the ‘Airports For Innovation’ network. In 2023, Munich (in June 2023), Vancouver, Dallas Fort Worth, Nice and Athens joined the network. Over 500 million passengers are handled by the network and consequently involved in common innovative solutions.