Six startups are accelerating circular mobility
- At the Refactory Flins in Yvelines, The Future is NEUTRAL’s Innovation Hub supports startups developing practical solutions to accelerate the circular economy and sustainable mobility.
- On June 25, the six startups from the 2026 cohort will complete six months of industrial and strategic support designed to help them scale faster.
- Battery refurbishment, robotics, circular logistics, and light electric mobility: these young companies demonstrate how innovation can contribute to the emergence of more sustainable mobility.
- The fourth cohort since the Hub’s launch in 2022, this edition confirms the Innovation Hub’s mission: transforming promising innovations into tangible industrial solutions.
The Future is NEUTRAL’s Innovation Hub celebrates its fourth cohort. Over six months, six innovative young companies received industrial and strategic support designed to accelerate the development, testing, and industrialization of their solutions serving the circular economy and sustainable mobility.
Dedicated support for industrialization
Since its launch in 2022, the Innovation Hub has supported 40 startups. Its distinguishing feature lies in giving innovative young companies direct access to a fully operational industrial environment, The Future is NEUTRAL’s business expertise, and the infrastructure of Refactory Flins, helping accelerate their transition from prototype to industrialization.
Led by Nathalie Rey, the Innovation Hub primarily supports hardware startups whose innovations require testing, validation, and deployment under real-world conditions.
“Our mission at the Innovation Hub is clear: to transform promising ideas into concrete industrial solutions. We do more than support startups — we give them the means to scale and make a real impact on the circular economy.”
Nathalie Rey, Head of Innovation Hub, The Future is NEUTRAL
Six startups driving the circular economy and sustainable mobility
Four startups are developing solutions designed to streamline operations related to the circular economy:
- TOORE: a software platform dedicated to managing remanufacturing and refurbishment operations.
- DOCTIBIKE: diagnostic, repair, and battery refurbishment solutions for micromobility vehicles, including bikes, kick scooters, scooters and electric motorcycles.
- R3 ROBOTICS: robotic technologies designed for dismantling batteries and electric vehicles.
- ARCA Solutions: modular storage and secure transport solutions, particularly suited to future logistics needs related to lithium batteries.
Two other startups are developing sustainable mobility solutions with strong industrialization ambitions:
- MIDIPILE: pedal-powered electric micro-utility vehicles that require no driver’s license and can carry loads of up to 300 kg.
- KARBIKES: ultra-efficient hybrid vehicles, halfway between a bicycle and a car, designed to simplify everyday mobility for families and professionals.
Tangible benefits for startups
“Thanks to the Innovation Hub, we were able to quickly gain access to industry experts and identify an initial deployment scope for our solution within THE REMAKERS. The program’s ability to connect startups with the right stakeholders and accelerate decision-making represents tremendous value for a young company.”
Thibault Geoffray, CEO of TOORE
“Discovering the reuse ecosystem, particularly in Flins and within The Future is NEUTRAL, enabled us to identify new development and partnership opportunities. Exchanges with the other cohort members were also highly valuable, through the sharing of best practices, feedback, and open discussions about the challenges each of us faced.”
Sébastien Fossé, CEO of DOCTIBIKE
“The support provided by the Innovation Hub has been a real accelerator for our development. It helped us structure our collaboration with SUEZ and turn exploratory discussions into a potential concrete pilot project focused on automated battery disassembly. Exchanges with the teams were also invaluable in testing our solution against real-world conditions and industrial needs.”
Faysal Echaibi, Business Lead at R3 ROBOTICS
“The Innovation Hub enabled us to quickly test our solutions against real, large-scale use cases while validating their technical relevance. This experience also paved the way for initial commercial partnership discussions. Beyond the support itself, what we value most is the richness of the exchanges and the opportunity to build a strong network within the circular economy ecosystem.”
Ludovic Olivier, CEO of ARCA Solutions
“The support from the Innovation Hub enabled us to quickly challenge our project against the industrial realities of the circular economy. Beyond access to expertise and infrastructure, we particularly appreciated the quality of exchanges with the teams and the other startups in the cohort, which helped accelerate our development.”
Benoît Trouvé, CEO of MIDIPILE
“The Innovation Hub offers us support that evolves with our challenges, rather than a standardized program. Access to the resources and technical expertise of the Refactory is a major asset in accelerating our development. Finally, the opportunity to work on the industrialization of our solution with a leading automotive manufacturer provides tremendous credibility and acts as a powerful growth accelerator.
Lucas Vançon, CEO of KARBIKES
Three levers to accelerate industrialization
Since its creation, the Innovation Hub has structured its support around three complementary services.
- Incubation program (6 months).
The core of the model, this program supports technology startups working on circular economy and industrialization challenges:- Collective training on the fundamentals of the circular economy.
- Development and validation of circular business models.
- Awareness of life cycle assessment.
- Support for scaling to industrial deployment.
- Workshops, mentoring, and exchanges with investors and experts.
- Access to offices, infrastructure, and technical expertise within the Hub.
- Manufacture as a Service.
This service supports startups in bringing their solutions into production:- Technical and economic feasibility studies.
- Deployment of production lines leveraging the existing industrial assets of the Refactory Flins.
- Monitoring and support for industrial ramp-up and scaling.
- Hub as a Service.
Startups and partners can access the Refactory’s infrastructure, expertise, and ecosystem to accelerate the development and validation of their projects in a real industrial environment.
Bringing tomorrow’s industrial solutions to life
Through its Innovation Hub, The Future is NEUTRAL helps bring forward the industrial solutions that will accelerate the transition to large-scale circular economy models. By supporting startups in moving from prototype to industrialization and by providing access to industrial capabilities in France, the company contributes to building an innovation ecosystem dedicated to more sustainable mobility.
A look back at three startups that benefited from the industrialization support program.
“Thanks to the industrial expertise of the Refactory Flins and the support of The Future is NEUTRAL, we were able to move from prototype to series production in a very short time. We started with two team members trained on our assembly line; today we are five to support our growth. For a startup like Virvolt, this is a real accelerator that enabled us to industrialize our product quickly and scale up with confidence.”
Yvan de La Baume, CEO of Virvolt
“This experience at the Refactory has been extremely valuable for Batconnect. Exchanges with the Flins teams helped us better understand the challenges of industrialization and make concrete progress in our production process. Beyond the expertise provided, Renault’s support is a real mark of credibility for a startup aiming to move from prototype to industrial scale.”
Jérémy Dulout, CEO of Batconnect
“The Refactory has enabled us to combine the agility of a startup with the industrial excellence of Renault Group. Thanks to access to the site’s expertise and infrastructure, we have accelerated our industrialization and strengthened our ability to scale production in Western Europe. More than just a support program, we have found a true partner, committed to working alongside us and supporting our growth.”
Indrek Petjärv, CEO of VOK Bikes
Call for applications
Startups in the circular economy and sustainable mobility: take your projects to the next level with The Future is NEUTRAL’s Innovation Hub. Tailored support to accelerate your growth, test your solutions, and develop your industrialization processes.
To learn more: https://www.thefutureisneutral.com/our-entities/neutral-hub-innovation/
Press contact
Isabelle Behar
Communication Director – The Future is NEUTRAL
isabelle.behar@thefutureisneutral.com
+33 6 08 71 63 31
