ADR Innovation Hub, the startup accelerator at Rome Fiumicino Airport, has signed, through Aeroporti di Roma’s corporate venture capital fund ADR Ventures, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lufthansa Innovation Hub, the Lufthansa Group’s innovation centre based in Berlin.
The partnership focuses on joint innovation projects, sharing insights, best practices and technological knowledge. On the one hand, ADR Innovation Hub will share its know-how on startup acceleration achieved during the ADR ‘Runway to the Future’ editions. On the other hand, Lufthansa Innovation Hub will share insights and opportunities based on its research, venture building and venture clienting activities.
The MoU outlines key areas of collaboration, including:
- Partnership regarding ADR’s ‘Runway to the Future’ acceleration program: This includes regular exchange about startups and innovative services, relevant innovative projects and pilot tests as well as the parties’ respective KPIs. An example of a possible project is the exchange on service robotics, for example, with the startup Ottonomy, a deep-tech startup providing contactless deliveries using fully autonomous robots, with which both companies are already collaborating.
- Co-development of pilots: This includes scheduling tests on potential innovative solutions on a regular basis, creating a common knowledge for current and future projects, and coordinate the development of relevant Proof of Concepts (POCs) in the respective companies of hardware or software solutions. This will allow both ADR and Lufthansa Innovation Hub to collaborate not only in identifying the solutions put on the market by the most innovative startups, but also to test them, with ad-hoc POCs in both the aeronautical and infrastructural fields.
- Collaboration on startup partnerships: This includes sharing of use-cases, solutions and problems regarding the scouting and creation of new ventures, regular exchange on developments in the startup ecosystem, and knowledge-sharing when it comes to trends, market dynamics, and the status quo of the venture capital industry.
Emanuele Calà, Senior Vice President of Transformation & Technology at Aeroporti di Roma and Managing Director at ADR Ventures, said: “This partnership represents a strategic collaboration in advancing the aviation industry. We are committed to collaboration as a key leverage to shape the future of the aviation industry, we are proud to work alongside Lufthansa Innovation Hub.”
Dr Stefan Nothelfer, Director Partnerships and New Business Ventures at Lufthansa Innovation Hub, commented: “As a crucial part of the travel experience, we see airports as a highly relevant field for innovation. Building on our previous venture clienting and research activities in this area, we are more than pleased about the cooperation with ADR Innovation Hub. We definitely aim to work even more closely with airports in the future.”
Hear more from Aeroporti di Roma in the Premium Conference at FTE APEX Asia Expo, taking place in Singapore on 19-20 November 2024. Giulio Ranucci, Head of Innovation, Digital & CVC, Aeroporti di Roma, is participating in ‘The Airport Innovation Summit’ with a presentation titled ‘How a unique innovation culture and mindset has helped to establish Aeroporti di Roma as one of the innovation leaders in the global airport industry’.
View the FTE APEX Asia Expo 2024 schedule at a glance >> Register for FTE APEX Asia Expo 2024 >>Hear more from Lufthansa at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” taking place in Los Angeles on 28-30 October 2024. Stuart Holdstock, Head of projects and processes – Operations, Lufthansa, will deliver a presentation titled ‘What progress has Lufthansa made working with its German airport partners, and key suppliers, to accelerate efforts to automate more of their activities on the ramp?’
Meanwhile, Dr Björn Becker, Head of Future Intercontinental Experience Program, Lufthansa, will speak alongside Bastian Schutz, Global Lead, Virtual & Mixed Reality Strategy & Partnerships, Meta and Camillo Stark, Deputy Managing Director, MSM Digital. Their joint presentation is titled ‘Lufthansa and Meta have partnered to offer Mixed Reality (MR) headsets to the carrier’s business class passengers flying in its newly-introduced Allegris Business Class creating unparalleled experiences for travellers, spanning entertainment, travel, wellness, and gaming to usher in a new era of inflight entertainment and passenger experiences onboard. What is the business case for this effort, and what have been the learnings from its roll-out?’
Explore the full FTE Global 2024 schedule at a glance here >> Register for FTE Global 2024 >>
