Jointly organised by the ESSEC Alumni Automobile & Mobility Club and the Automobile Club de France, the final of the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech 2022 attracted some 200 people and awarded the start-ups Geolith, Serinus Labs and Racenergy

For 5 years, the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech has formed a powerful springboard and accelerator in new technologies and mobilities for start-ups in the automotive sector. 

This latest edition, organised by Richard de Cabrol (E14), attracted 76 applicants from 17 countries. The winners were chosen by the public and a jury composed of 14 leaders from the automotive sector, including Thierry Peugot (E80), President of the ESSEC Alumni Automobile & Mobility Club and Louis Deanges, President of the Automobile Club de France, in addition to Félicie Burelle, Deputy CEO of Plastic Omnium; Patrice Kefalas, Director of Innovation and Partnerships at Michelin; Gilles Le Borgne, Director of Engineering at Groupe Renault; Anne Asensio, Vice-President of Design at Dassault Systèmes; Grégory Duconge, CEO of Vulog, and Elisabeth Lecuyer, CEO of Paris Business Angels. 

During the voting session, a round table was held on how to promote the emergence of unicorns in AutoTech. 

A Promising Line-up

The Grand Prix ACF was awarded to Geolith (France), which acts for energy transition by developing clean, simple and innovative technology to extract and recycle lithium. This represents a new, more environmentally-friendly model for the use of underground resources.

The ACF Pioneer Prize was awarded to Serinus Labs (USA), for its optimal technical monitoring system which enables the analysis and quality inspection of SOH in Li-ion batteries, thanks to highly-efficient sensors.

The GPACF Greentech honour went to Racenergy (India), which designs interchangeable batteries and retrofits three-wheel vehicles.

A Genuine Booster

The competition provides enhanced visibility to its winners, in addition to tailor-made financial and legal aid, coaching, contact with decision-makers and key investors, support in the recruitment of developers and administrative assistance for overseas operations.

A scheme set up thanks to the numerous partners of the event: Fidal, Forvia, Michelin, Plastic Omnium, Renault Group, Aster, Epitech, FFA, France AutoTech, France Mobilités, La Tribune, Le Journal de l'Automobile, Maddyness, Meridiam, Next Move, PFA and the Institut Vedecom.

See You Next Year!

The date of the next edition of the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech has been set for 20 April 2023. The call for projects will take place in October. In the meantime, sign up on Le Paddock, a platform which provides all the information you need about the awards and AutoTech in general!

Relive the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech 2022 in replay on YouTube!

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