MUBIL Mobility Awards 2026 select six European projects for the final of their record-breaking edition

Six technology projects from Spain, France, Italy and Poland will compete in the MUBIL Mobility Awards 2026 final, to be held in Donostia/San Sebastián on 22 October.

The sixth edition has attracted a record 65 applications, up 6.5% on last year and the highest number since the awards were launched.
International participation has also reached an all-time high, with 29 projects from abroad — 44.6% of the total — and applications from 14 countries.

The six finalists for the MUBIL Mobility Awards 2026 have now been selected. For this sixth edition, the technical committee has chosen projects from Spain, France, Italy and Poland, featuring solutions in electric charging, autonomous rail and bus operations, connected mobility, e-bike propulsion systems and critical raw material recovery.

The six finalists were selected from 65 applications received for this year's awards, the highest number since the initiative was launched. Almost half of all submissions came from outside Spain.

The finalists will pitch their projects to the MUBIL Mobility Awards jury in Donostia/San Sebastián on 22 October. The two winning projects will share €16,500 in prize money and will also have access to a further €18,500 in funding to develop their solutions in collaboration with stakeholders from the Basque smart and sustainable mobility ecosystem. They will also benefit from a workspace at MUBIL Center for twelve months, as well as coverage in specialist media and visibility at MUBIL Mobility Expo.

The selected projects are BATTERYFLY, from Paterna (Spain); FUTURAIL, from Strasbourg (France); LetMePark, from Madrid (Spain); NICHE MOBILITY, from Girona (Spain); RAREARTH, from Ancona (Italy); and SmartDEPOT™, from Gliwice (Poland).

The six proposals reflect the diversity of technologies currently transforming smart and sustainable mobility, with solutions ranging from new charging and energy management systems to autonomous driving, the digitalisation of mobility services, e-bike electrification and the application of circular economy principles to strategic materials.

BATTERYFLY, based in Paterna, has developed a portable, bidirectional and intelligent energy solution that integrates power generation, storage and supply. The system uses second-life batteries and is designed to facilitate the deployment of energy and charging infrastructure with partial or complete independence from the electricity grid. Potential applications include the electrification of industrial fleets, last-mile logistics, charging in off-grid locations and energy support in critical situations.

French company FUTURAIL is developing a comprehensive technology platform to advance the autonomy of rail vehicles. The company is working on three solutions — Detect, Localize and Signal — that enable vehicles to identify obstacles and surrounding elements, determine their precise position on the rail network and interpret railway signals. Its roadmap envisages a gradual deployment of autonomous capabilities, beginning with driver-assistance systems and depot operations before progressing to more complex railway environments.

LetMePark, based in Madrid, is working on an intelligent co-pilot for connected vehicles that integrates different services associated with a journey — such as charging, parking, tolls and refuelling — into a single user experience. Its technology combines artificial intelligence, vehicle data and real-time information to anticipate drivers' needs and reduce the need to use multiple applications and payment processes during the same journey.

From Girona, NICHE MOBILITY presents ADTS 2.0 Biometric, an intelligent and adaptive propulsion system for e-bikes. The company develops systems that integrate motors, automatic digital transmission and smart technologies. With this solution, it incorporates biometrics and artificial intelligence to automatically adapt electric assistance to the rider and optimise the cycling experience.

Italian company RAREARTH proposes applying circular economy principles to a component that is strategic to many technologies linked to electric mobility: rare-earth permanent magnets. The company recovers materials from waste electrical and electronic equipment to produce NdFeB permanent magnets — based on neodymium — made from 100% recycled material. According to data provided in its application, the process reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90% and water consumption by more than 99% compared with processes based on primary mining and conventional refining.

Completing the group of finalists is Poland's SmartDEPOT™, which is developing autonomous driving technology for bus movements within depots. The solution enables an urban bus to move without a driver on board, at low speed and within a private, fenced and mapped environment, carrying out operations such as parking and travelling to charging points, washing facilities or workshops. The system combines autonomous driving, drive-by-wire technology and an operator supervision and coordination platform, while autonomous mode remains disabled when the vehicle is travelling on public roads.

A record-breaking and increasingly international edition

The technical committee selected the six proposals from the 65 applications received for the sixth edition of the MUBIL Mobility Awards, 6.5% more than last year and the highest figure recorded since the awards were created.

International participation has once again been particularly strong. Of all the projects submitted, 29 — 44.6% — came from outside Spain, also the highest figure reached to date. International applications were received from 14 countries, primarily Italy, France and Portugal, as well as Germany, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Denmark, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, the United States and India. These were joined by ten projects from the Basque Country and Navarre and a further 26 from elsewhere in Spain.

With this year's applications, the MUBIL Mobility Awards have now received a total of 277 technology projects since their launch, consolidating the initiative as a platform for identifying innovative solutions in smart and sustainable mobility and connecting them with the Basque industrial and technology ecosystem.

The final: 22 October

Representatives of the six selected projects will pitch their proposals to the MUBIL Mobility Awards 2026 jury on 22 October at the awards final, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Tabakalera in Donostia/San Sebastián, once again hosted by Antonella Broglia, an international expert in social innovation. During the event, the finalists will present their solutions and their applications in the field of smart and sustainable mobility. Attendance at the awards ceremony will be free of charge, subject to prior registration.

The jury announced for this year's edition comprises Anna Burgués, Investment Portfolio Manager at EIT Urban Mobility; Asier Rufino, CEO and co-founder of Tecnalia Ventures; César Gutiérrez, General Manager of MUBIL; Daniel Pérez, CEO and co-founder of Zunder; Marisa Arriola, Managing Director of BIC Gipuzkoa; Patrick McGirr, Deputy Director of AICC; Sylvie Notary, Head of Innovation for Aquitaine at EDF Commerce Sud-Ouest; and Xabier Pérez Sarasola, Head of Technological Innovation Strategy at CAF.

The MUBIL Mobility Awards are an initiative by MUBIL aimed at technology projects related to electric, connected, autonomous and shared mobility and their associated infrastructure. Their purpose is to identify and showcase innovative solutions and facilitate connections with companies and stakeholders from the Basque ecosystem, helping to foster technological development and address the key challenges facing mobility.

MUBIL, promoted by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa as part of its Etorkizuna Eraikiz strategy and supported by the Basque Government and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), works to connect companies, startups, technology centres and institutions and accelerate the development of smart and sustainable mobility.