Renault and Nissan open the new Alliance Innovation Lab Tel Aviv

Renault and Nissan announced the inauguration of a new facility for the joint innovation lab in Tel Aviv, Atidim Park, which will enable the Alliance to accelerate a unique model of collaboration with Israeli startups and an exclusive partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority.

Known as the Alliance Innovation Lab Tel Aviv, the facility focuses on sensors for autonomous driving, cyber security, and big data. The Alliance is currently testing and working on over ten joint prototyping projects with Israeli startups at different stages, among them are: Apollo Power, Argus, AutoTalks, BrightWay Vision, Electreon, Enigmatos, IRP systems, Karamba, Moodify, Saferide and Upstream.

The lab's location in Atidim Park enables it to carry out Proof of Concepts (POCs) in ideal conditions and co-develop prototypes in Tel Aviv's smart city experiment zone. With a surface area of 1600 square metres, the lab provides startups with the space to test technologies with real vehicles, as well as modern office space in a live ecosystem.

“With Israel as a global innovation hub, particularly with automotive technology, this new lab is a natural next step for us and will allow the Alliance to leverage the strengths of Israel's startup ecosystem,” said Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Alliance EVP, Engineering. “Through collaborations with promising local startups with cutting-edge technologies, we aim to develop a variety of key technologies, which will be essential for the future of mobility.”

The grand opening ceremony was attended by the lab's partners in Israel: Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Aharon Aharon, the CEO of Israel Innovation Authority, Dr. Shay Sofer, Chief Scientist at Israeli Ministry of Transport, Meital Lehavi, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo for transportation, construction and infrastructure, Ofir Pines, Head of the Institute for Local Government at Tel Aviv University, the Ambassadors of France, Japan and the European Union to Israel, Sagi Niv, CEO of Atidim Park, Gaby Kaminsky, the Director of CityZone - Tel Aviv's smart city zone, Avi Kenneth, CCO of Carasso Motors - the local Renault and Nissan importer that supports the lab, and other senior executives.

The Alliance delegation included senior stakeholders including: Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Alliance EVP, Engineering, Gaspar Gascon Abellan, Deputy Alliance EVP, Engineering, Takao Asami, Alliance SVP, Research and Advanced Engineering, Christian Noske, Direct Investments Director of Alliance Ventures, and Sophie Schmidtlin, Alliance Global Director of Advanced Engineering.

“The opening of this new facility is a special milestone for us. It is part of the Alliance's growing engagement in the Israeli ecosystem, after setting-up our local innovation lab”, said Antoine Basseville, Director of the Alliance Innovation Lab Tel Aviv. “We believe that our new facility, the Alliance partnerships with the IIA (Israel Innovation Authority), with the municipality and university of Tel Aviv, will contribute to create a comprehensive mobility ecosystem in Atidim in a wide array of fields from smart city to our technical fields”

Being a selected operator of the Israel Innovation Authority's “Technological Innovation Labs” programme, the lab offers advantageous funding for POCs carried out by Israeli startups focusing on smart mobility. The lab also works in close cooperation with Alliance Ventures, the Alliance corporate venture capital fund that plans to invest up to $1 billion over five years in startups, early-stage technology companies and entrepreneurial talents and has already invested in Maniv Mobility fund in Israel.

An additional partnership for the Alliance lab in Israel is CityZone, an innovation ecosystem for smart city ventures, at Atidim Park, under real-city conditions.