Valeo Innovation Challenge semi-finalists chosen

Valeo has announced the 24 teams selected to move onto the second stage of its global competition, the Valeo Innovation Challenge. Selected from a total of 1,628 participating teams by 70 Valeo experts and independent scientists, the 24 semi-finalist teams hail from 13 countries across 23 universities and schools.

There are 11 teams competing in the “technological innovation” category and 13 in the “idea for new ways of using cars” category. The projects mainly relate to safety and cyber-security, as well as cabin comfort and well-being, new user practices and more environmentally friendly driving.

The selected teams now have until July 13 to develop, fine-tune, test and prototype their ideas, each using a €5,000 grant from Valeo. When this stage is complete, eight finalist teams will be shortlisted to present their project to a grand jury. Headed by Valeo’s chairman and CEO Jacques Aschenbroich, the jury is made up of members of the group’s management team as well as eminent scientists and business leaders. The winners will be announced on October 27.

Teams will be competing to win a grand prize of €100,000 or a second-place prize of €10,000, in one of the following categories: “technological innovation” and “idea for new ways of using cars”. In addition, the winning team in the “technological innovation” category will, for the first time ever, be given the opportunity to join a Valeo-partnered start-up accelerator to develop their project.

Enthusiasm for the Valeo Innovation Challenge is stronger than ever in the contest’s fourth year, with participation at a record high. Nearly 5,000 students from around the world and 1,628 teams from 80 countries and 748 universities and schools have signed up to compete.

The Valeo Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for students worldwide to play an active role in automotive innovation by imagining the technologies and user practices that will shape the car of tomorrow.