MOVEM, a cooperative framework for a total vision of mobility in Catalonia

After two years of work, in mid-December 2023, the MOVEM Foundation was presented, the largest alliance in Europe in terms of the number of companies represented, with the aim of accelerating the transition towards sustainable and connected mobility in Catalonia. Formed by eight clusters and the Generalitat de Catalunya, it is configured as a meta-cluster to develop a total mobility ecosystem in Catalonia.

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Nine partners participated in the gestation of MOVEM, including the main clusters of the mobility sector in Catalonia: Clúster de la Indústria d'Automoció de Catalunya (CIAC), In-move (Rail Grup), Light Mobility Cluster, Clúster Digital, Clúster de l'Energia Eficient de Catalunya (CEEC), Clúster de Materials Avançats de Catalunya (Clúster MAV), as well as other entities such as Vall de l'Hidrogen Catalunya and l'Associació de municipis per la Mobilitat i el Transport Urbà (AMTU), with the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya through OPTIMA, the Public Office for the transformation of the Mobility and Automotive Industries and the Department of Enterprise and Employment.

During the presentation at the end of 2023, the then Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Roger Torrent, stated that the MOVEM Foundation project ‘is a project with great potential and coincides with the Government's objectives around green and digital reindustrialisation’.  The Minister of Enterprise and Employment stressed that ‘we have common objectives such as facing the great challenges of the sector with maximum guarantees of success, transforming the Catalan industrial fabric, filling the gaps in the value chain, and developing the technologies that the new mobility industry will require’.

Key to the gestation of the project was that the entities involved understood how the traditional mobility ecosystem is transforming and expanding with new agents that must come together to work in the future in a transversal way and add synergies to be competitive at a global level. MOVEM emerges as a point of union to promote the effective collaboration of all these new actors of the mobility ecosystem in Catalonia, not only to significantly influence the decisions of the Public Administrations, both at local, national and European level, but also to jointly develop industrial projects and new lines of work that mark the transformation of the sector and the entire productive ecosystem.

‘From CIAC we are 100% involved in the national plan for electric mobility and we work to increase the presence of our partners through collaborations with different actors that allow us to develop transversal projects. Hence the importance of the creation of MOVEM. In fact, we are going to make our innovative project and talent platform available to all the members of the alliance so that it can be the basic tool for all the working groups and more than 30,000 members can benefit from it’, said Sergio Alcaraz, president of CIAC and MOVEM, just over a year ago.

Metacluster 

After just over a year of evolution, Josep Nadal, managing director of CIAC, tells AutoRevista that ‘the Generalitat created the OPTIMA office, directed by Tomás Megía, for the transformation of the mobility and automotive industries, From the various Catalan clusters there has always been a perfect harmony with the Administration and the intention to expand the spectrum of projects, always counting on the dialogue with the Generalitat. On the premise of not acting as a lobby, we conceived a project in which the Generalitat would have a place. When we went to talk to the former minister, Roger Torrent, he told us that he liked the idea of creating a framework for project collaboration, but we had to set up a legal entity. To this end, we considered that the formula of a foundation would have better operational guarantees and we decided to set up the MOVEM Foundation on three levels: one with all the member companies of the eight entities that make up the Foundation together with the Generalitat, which together make up a total of 1,400 companies; a more operational level where all the cluster managers and the director of the OPTIMA office are located; and a third level that meets twice a year and is made up of the members of the foundation's board of trustees with the presidents of the entities and two seats for the Generalitat (minister and director general of Enterprise)”.

Nadal stresses that ‘we are working on projects such as feasibility studies for reflection and focused on AEI (business interest groupings) and now we are proposing a line of aid within the framework of the Fourth Axis of the 2025-2030 Electric Vehicle Promotion Plan through collaborative projects by MOVEM member companies. We have projects by MOVEM member companies. This fourth axis focuses on promoting local industry and technological innovation, strengthening Catalonia's competitiveness in areas such as the production of batteries, electronic components and smart mobility solutions’.

The managing director of CIAC comments that ‘we are trying to move forward through a new entity that brings us together, a meta-cluster without structure, which draws on the human resources available in the different clusters that make up MOVEM. The idea is to generate a breeding ground in which opportunities for the mobility industry in Catalonia can flourish. We work on collaborative projects that lead to strategic alliances for new business opportunities and job creation, improving GDP and consolidating the transition to mobility’.

‘Public-private collaboration is essential for issues not only of help lines, but also of recharging points, regulations, procedures, permits... Faced with such a big challenge, we needed to join forces. We carried out an analysis of more than three years on aspects on which we agreed and those on which we did not. Bearing in mind that there are convergent and divergent aspects, we are aware of the differences we have and we focus on the similarities”.

MOVEM's objectives and actions are based on three fundamental axes: to obtain synergies as a result of collaboration and technological cooperation between sectors and throughout the value chain; to promote the exchange of knowledge for the application of innovations and new developments; and to achieve the objective of climate neutrality, in parallel to increasing business competitiveness and improving people's well-being.

MOVEM's lines of work aim to guarantee sustainable, efficient and connected urban mobility at the service of the end user. The strategic axes of the alliance include promoting R&D in the sector through projects with public funding and training; promoting participation between clusters in the EU, participating in joint projects and maintaining agreements with reference centres. They also promote the development of projects by encouraging the transfer of technologies between agents and creating specialised training lines to train personnel in the use of new technologies. ‘All of this will ensure a competitive position within this global panorama,’ MOVEM sources underline.

Sergio Alcaraz, President of CIAC: ‘The platform that will allow us to accelerate this process’.

‘We are at a key moment for the automotive industry, where electrification and digitalisation are completely transforming the sector. To meet this challenge, collaboration between companies, administrations and technology centres is essential. MOVEM will be the platform that will allow us to accelerate this process, connecting innovative projects that reinforce the role of the automotive industry in mobility’. 

Joana Barbany, President of the Digital Cluster of Catalonia: ‘The future of mobility lies in digitalisation’.

‘The future of mobility lies in digitalisation, from connectivity to artificial intelligence. Data management, IoT and 5G will be key to developing a safer and more efficient transport ecosystem. At MOVEM, we will work to integrate these technologies into automotive and other areas of mobility, ensuring that digitalisation drives real change in our cities’.

Jordi Manonellas, President of the Light Mobility Cluster: ‘Micro-mobility, an essential alternative’.

‘Cities need more flexible mobility solutions, and micro-mobility is consolidating as an essential alternative. But for it to be truly sustainable, it needs to be properly integrated with the rest of the transport ecosystem. At MOVEM, we will work to ensure that light vehicles play a key role in the future of urban mobility, ensuring adequate infrastructures and an adapted regulation”.

Joaquim Daura, President of the Energy Efficiency Cluster of Catalonia (CEEC): ‘Creating synergies between mobility and energy’.

‘We cannot transform mobility without transforming the energy that drives it. The electrification of transport, the optimisation of energy efficiency and the promotion of hydrogen will be fundamental to achieve climate neutrality. From MOVEM, we will encourage collaboration between the automotive industry, the energy sector and the administration, creating synergies that accelerate this transition’.

Sonia Araújo, president of In-Move by RailGrup: ‘Positive impacts on territories, cities and people’.

‘The promotion of new technologies is essential for the development of sustainable mobility of people and goods, in the sustainable mobility of people and goods, in which the railways play an important role, as the European Union is promoting through various initiatives and specific funds. initiatives and funds. Through the MOVEM Mobility Alliance, we will promote projects that reinforce the role of sustainable mobility and its positive impacts on territories, cities and people’.

Antonio Onteniente, President of the Cluster of Advanced Materials of Catalonia (Cluster MAV): ‘Advanced and sustainable solutions with innovative materials’.

‘Innovation in materials is key to the future of the automotive and mobility. In order to reduce the weight of vehicles, improve their energy efficiency and increase their durability, it is necessary to focus on advanced and sustainable solutions. MOVEM will allow us to accelerate the development of new materials and promote their application along the entire value chain.”

Aurora Carbonell, President of AMTU: ‘Inclusive and sustainable public transport in municipalities’.

‘Municipalities have a fundamental role to play in the transformation of mobility, as public transport is the axis around which a more sustainable and inclusive system must revolve. Digitalisation, infrastructure improvement and integration with other modes of transport will be key in this process. From MOVEM, we will promote initiatives that allow cities and towns to adapt to this new reality’.

Oriol Alcoba, Director General of Industry of the Generalitat de Catalunya and President of the Hydrogen Valley:  ‘Hydrogen is a key part of zero-emission mobility'
‘Hydrogen is a key part of zero-emission mobility, but its large-scale adoption depends on a firm commitment from industry and an infrastructure that makes it viable. At MOVEM, we will work to consolidate this technology, promoting projects that allow it to be efficiently integrated into transport and the automotive industry’.