5 February 2024 - Four innovations were awarded Holland's most prestigious prize in the field of mobility: the Automotive Innovation Award (AIA). TomTom won the main prize for the innovation with the greatest impact and the award in the Accessibility category with Orbis Maps. Orbis Maps combines map layers from TomTom with data from cars and data from other providers. The real-time integration of the various map layers creates the largest map ecosystem in the world.
LeydenJar received the award in the Sustainability category for their work on developing an anode - the minus pole of a battery - made of pure silicon. Total Safety Solutions won the Award for Safety with their Emergency Plug® for electric vehicles and InMotion, with students from TU Eindhoven, took the Student Award for developing the Next Generation Battery Pack, the fastest charging battery pack in a racing car in the world.
Jury chairman Jan Peter Balkenende, who presented the awards, praised both the quantity and quality of the innovations submitted. "We show that, as a small country, we make a global impact with our innovations. Therefore, these innovations deserve all the attention!"
Grand Prize and Award in the Accessibility category: TomTom
Every tech giant until recently created their base map with their unique map layers on top. TomTom is the founder of the Overture platform, where, together with Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, it provides a single open-source base map. Public and private parties can offer their unique map layers via the Overture platform (free or paid). Orbis Maps is TomTom's product where it can combine its map layers, for autonomous driving, in real-time with data from cars and data other from providers. This creates the largest 'map ecosystem' in the world. With this Dutch innovation, the whole world, by the whole world, can be mapped.
Award in the Sustainability category: LeydenJar
LeydenJar is working on the development of an anode - the minus pole of a battery - made of pure silicon, which can achieve a 70% higher energy density. Compared to a traditional battery of the same size, this means high capacity, lightning-fast charging capabilities, reduced environmental impact, reduced CO2 emissions, and lower production costs. Or the same performance can be achieved but with a much smaller battery. That helps make electric driving more affordable and accessible.
Award in the Safety category: Total Safety Solutions
Total Safety Solutions has developed a universal 'stop' for electric vehicles: the Emergency Plug®. This instantly disables electric and hybrid vehicles in case of emergency or maintenance work. This prevents unpredictable behavior and creates a safe working environment. This reduces the otherwise extensive - per vehicle different - protocol to a few seconds for first responders.
Student Award: TU Eindhoven (InMotion)
The 'Next Generation Battery Pack' can charge in less than 4 minutes and is currently the fastest-charging battery pack in a race car in the world. This enables 'Electric Refueling', where an electric car recharge is as fast as fossil fuel refueling. To remove the heat - released during rapid battery charging - from the pack, 'Cell-level cooling' has been applied, individually cooling each cell.
Automotive Innovation Dinner
The anniversary edition of the awards ceremony took place at Studio 21 in Hilversum, where an exclusive Automotive Innovation Dinner had been organized for the occasion. Led by presenter Roelof Hemmen, the event featured many fascinating talks on the themes of accessibility, sustainability, and safety. The almost 300 guests were also treated to an interesting presentation by Stephan Herbst. He is responsible for developments within hydrogen and sustainable mobility at Toyota Motor Europe. The main role, however, was claimed by the 11 finalists of the Automotive Innovation Award.
The event was the capstone of a process launched last summer with an appeal to innovative organizations in the Dutch automotive sector to apply for the AIA. That call was heard en masse: the jury received no fewer than 43 entries, a record. Tonight's winners ended up trailing all other entries - all of which can also be viewed on the AIA website. "To remain at the forefront of innovation, it is important that market parties, private and public, in the Netherlands, know how to find each other, share knowledge, and (continue to) cooperate," Balkenende said. "That is why the Automotive Innovation Award remains so relevant!"
Automotive Innovation Award Foundation
The Automotive Innovation Award (AIA), an initiative of ANWB, BOVAG, LeasePlan, RAI Automotive Industry NL, RAI Vereniging, and Roland Berger, is awarded every two years by the independent Automotive Innovation Award Foundation. This award highlights innovations in the Dutch automotive sector, which accounts for an annual turnover of 90 billion euros and 100,000 jobs. The AIA focuses on challenges such as environmental impact and the transition to more sustainable mobility and is open to various parties within the mobility industry. Submissions are assessed on their innovative value, impact on mobility, economic return, and applicability, to strengthen the innovative power of the sector.