The Deputy General of Álava, Ramiro González and the director of the Mobility LAB Vitoria-Gasteiz Foundation, Iñigo Bilbao, visited the new experimental space complementing the Innovation Lab this morning. The space is located in a pavilion on the Betoño industrial estate, which has been provided free of charge for a period of five years by the Provincial Council of Álava.

The pavilion will be used, for example, to test and store electric vehicles involved in various sustainable mobility projects that are already underway. Currently, the new Mobility LAB Foundation premises house a Mercedes EQV van which, with the help of BasqueCCAM and its partners participating in its Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Electric Vehicles (PERTE VEC), is being equipped with cameras, sensors, and the necessary technology to undertake a validation environment at the Miñano Technology Park associated with the development, testing, and implementation of connected and automated electric vehicles.

Likewise, the pavilion provided by the Provincial Council of Álava will be used to develop various projects under the collaboration agreement with the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) based on the use of drones. One of the uses of the new facility is that drones can be tested and indoor flights can be carried out for safe demonstrations without the need for special flight authorizations from ENAIRE.

“It is necessary to have this type of experimental space in order to attract and coordinate initiatives, experiences, and pilot projects aimed at improving mobility and logistics in Vitoria-Gasteiz and Álava and boosting the competitiveness of the economic fabric, as well as establishing a hub of innovation in mobility and logistics that serves as a benchmark for transformative policies for the capital of Álava and for the entire Historical Territory of Álava,” said the Deputy General of Álava and President of the Mobility LAB Foundation, Ramiro González, during his tour of the pavilion, which coincided with European Sustainable Mobility Week.

In addition, this new infrastructure also has office space to accommodate potential entrepreneurs from the International Incubator Corridor of the Michelin City Network, to which the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz belongs, a project that seeks to promote the exchange of training, innovation, and entrepreneurship among emerging companies. The aim is to enable startups from other countries and their promoters to receive mentoring and access international markets beyond their countries of origin.

For his part, the director of Mobility LAB, Iñigo Bilbao, thanked the founding institutions for their commitment to the project through the free transfer of the pavilion by the Provincial Council of Álava and the confidence of the City Council in the management of the Michelin Cities Network project. “Having this pavilion gives us a new space for experimentation that complements those we have already set up within our Innovation Lab. This multi-purpose space already has its first users, such as BasqueCCAM, which will be able to equip and store its Mercedes EQV van, and Seaquenz, which will be able to fly its drones safely,” explained Bilbao after unveiling the work that has been carried out and the possibilities offered by this facility.

The visit was attended by the deputies and councilors who are members of the Board of Trustees, who listened to explanations given by both the director of BasqueCCAM, Alvaro Arrúe, and the head of the company Seaquenz, Xabier Ochoa de Eribe, about the work that both entities will carry out in the building ceded to the Mobility Lab Foundation, the first two users of this experimentation space.