The European Union has chosen the MOBILus consortium, made up of the city of Barcelona, SEAT and 46 other cities, businesses and universities in 15 European countries, to develop the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on Urban Mobility, the initiative that is tasked with developing innovations in urban mobility in the European Union.
The Knowledge and Innovation Community on Urban Mobility will have a duration of between 7 and 15 years and require a financial investment of up to 1.6 billion euros: 400 million to be contributed by the European Union and up to 1.2 billion by the partners. The headquarters will be located in Barcelona, with four branches in Copenhagen (Denmark), Prague (Czech Republic), Munich (Germany) and Helmond (the Netherlands).
The first General Assembly of the EIT-Urban Mobility, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology of Urban Mobility, was held today in Barcelona, and was attended by the city’s mayor Ada Colau; the commissioner of Economic Promotion of the Barcelona City Council Lluís Gómez; and representatives of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
At the press conference to present Barcelona as a European capital of urban mobility, SEAT president Luca de Meo emphasised that “this project confirms that when the Public Administration, businesses, universities, financial institutions and social agents work together, we are able to move the world. This initiative is going to enable us to boost a new European model of mobility that encourages innovation and competitiveness.”