[Please note that this English translation was generated automatically.]
Co-led by the Automobile & Mobility ESSEC Alumni Club and the Automobile Club de France, the final of the 2026 ACF AutoTech Grand Prix honoured the startups Altrove, Bloomineral and IoT.Bzh.
For 9 years, the ACF AutoTech Grand Prix has served as a powerful springboard and accelerator for new technologies and mobility for startups in the automotive sector.
This new edition, orchestrated by Richard de Cabrol (E14), saw over 100 applications from 28 countries compete. The jury, composed of influential automotive and finance executives as well as founders of startup award-winners from previous editions, had to decide between high-level candidates, all vying for a title. In parallel, the public was able to vote online for their favourite (with the online vote being counted as that of an additional jury member).
Winners: startups shifting into high gear
The ACF Grand Prix goes to Altrove, which develops innovative alternatives to critical and at-risk inorganic materials within a few months, strengthening industrial resilience and technological sovereignty through algorithmic development that allows for the creation of a unique AI.
Benefit: reduction of automotive costs, sovereignty regarding dependence on rare earth elements.
The ACF Pioneer Prize is awarded to Bloomineral, which develops a carbon-negative mineral material intended to replace polluting minerals used in many automotive components, from plastics to batteries.
Benefit: reduction of automotive costs, sovereignty regarding dependence on rare earth elements and emergency braking.
The GPACF Greentech Mention is awarded to Bloomineral.
The 1st Industrialisation Prize was awarded to IoT.Bzh, winner of the 2020 ACF Grand Prix, for the exemplary success of the industrialisation of its innovation over the past 6 years, meeting a key industry need: cybersecurity and attracting new clients.
A real boost
Among the rewards at stake: financial grants, coaching, personalised financial and legal advice, support for international expansion and innovation aid schemes, impact analysis, introductions to key decision-makers and investors… Not to mention strong visibility thanks to the prestige of the competition, which has become a benchmark in the sector.
A scheme set up thanks to the event's many partners: Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility, Fidal Avocats, Forvia, Motul, OPmobility, Renault Group and Renault Trucks as well as Aster, Automotive Lab Paris, Atlantic Vantage Point, BFM Business, BpiFrance, Cathay Innovation, Paris Région, Demea, Epitech, Eurazeo, FFA, France AutoTech, France Digitale, France Hydrogène, La French Fab, Hub France IA, Ingénieurs de l'Auto, Le Journal de l'Automobile, Linksium, Maddyness, Meridiam, Next Move, Partech, PFA, Shift For Good, SIA, Speedinvest, Sud Radio and Ville de demain.
Watch the replay of the final (in French)
Find out more about the Automobile & Mobility ESSEC Alumni Club
The Automobile & Mobility ESSEC Alumni Club is geared towards automotive professionals. Through its partnership with the automotive groups of the leading French Grande Ecole engineering and business schools, the Club offers conferences on the challenges of this key industry for the European continent.
Our Automobile & Mobility Club is also the co-founding Club of the ACF AutoTech Grand Prix, organised by the Automobile Club de France since 2018, an event that takes place annually in April. The event has become an institutional competition for the sector and the industry through its fresh perspective from upstream to downstream of the industry.
Image: © Quentin Vaquez
Comments0
Please log in to see or add a comment
Suggested Articles
