Toyota Motor Europe and partners have launched an open call to expand and include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the Toyota Open Labs innovation platform. The initiative aims to connect SMEs with business units across the Toyota group and support their ambitions to collaborate, scale up and contribute to a sustainable future.

Selected companies will work with key Toyota business units on six strategic categories:

• BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) Energy Ecosystem: technologies and systems to facilitate energy transition, including grid balancing, energy management, smart charging, and vehicle-to-grid energy transfers.
• Hydrogen Ecosystem: solutions supporting the development of a hydrogen economy.
• Carbon Capture and Reduction: technologies to help reduce carbon emissions.
• Circular Economy: systems for recovery, recycling and reuse of vehicles and components.
• Smart Communities: solutions supporting vehicle sharing, subscriptions and mobility hubs.
• Mobility for All: solutions to overcome mobility barriers and address ageing society needs.

Toyota said critical themes such as AI, education and inclusivity cut across and ‘amplify our efforts in these areas’.

Selected companies will have the opportunity to engage with relevant business units opening new partnerships and avenues of growth, Toyota said. They will also be able to ‘enhance their business strategy and investment opportunities, make informed product improvements, and build relationships for a global impact’.

Monica Perez Lobo, VP Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Toyota Motor Europe, said: "By including SMEs on the Toyota Open Labs platform we aim to form strong partnerships where new innovative capabilities are leveraged at scale to accelerate the mobility transformation towards a sustainable future.”

"I'm excited to work closely with Open Labs SMEs as we continue to shape the future of mobility together,” said Laurent Gallois, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Toyota Tsusho Europe.

The deadline for applications for SMEs is the 14th of March 2025.

Toyota Open Labs partners include Toyota Tsusho Europe, the trading and supply-chain arm of the Toyota group, KINTO Europe, the Toyota group’s mobility brand, Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth-stage venture fund, and Toyota Mobility Foundation, a non-profit foundation by Toyota.

For more information about the Toyota Open Labs platform and to apply for the program