Emovis Invites Innovators to Participate in the Abertis Global Challenge

Emovis, as part of Abertis, invites startups and technology partners to take part in the Safe Road Operations Challenge, the third Abertis Global Challenge. Launched in September and promoted by the Abertis Foundation under Beyond Roads, Abertis’ innovation hub, the initiative seeks solutions for real-world road operations. Abertis is a global benchmark in mobility, playing an essential role in economic and social progress with nearly 8,000 kilometers of roads across 15 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

For transport operators and road agencies, the challenge reflects a reality shared by every market: the direct interaction between road workers, live traffic, and changing operating conditions. Abertis’ safety protocols are highly effective and its teams highly trained, yet the unpredictable nature of live traffic means risks can never be eliminated. The ambition is to move from managing operational risks to preventing them.

A proactive vision for road operations

The challenge poses a clear question: How can innovation help protect motorway workers in live traffic environments by anticipating risks and preventing accidents before they occur?

The desired future combines intelligent infrastructure, connected workers, predictive systems, and automation. It means detecting dangerous situations before they become incidents, alerting workers in real time, reducing the need for people to operate in hazardous areas, promoting safer driver behavior around work zones, and supporting teams with intelligent decision-making tools. Three objectives guide the call: protecting workers in live traffic, reducing operational risk through predictive and connected technologies, and accelerating safer, more autonomous motorway operations.

These objectives take shape in three use cases:

• Predict: anticipating risks before workers are exposed, through real-time intelligence.
• Protect: reducing worker exposure and making interventions safer.
• Prevent: influencing driver behavior through connected technologies.

Proposals may draw on AI, computer vision, robotics, drones, V2X, IoT, wearables and digital twins, and should demonstrate scalability, operational robustness and clear value for protecting motorway workers.

More than a competition: a gateway

For startups, this challenge opens a door. Every participant gains the chance to become an Abertis Group supplier. The three finalists step into the Connect & Build Sessions, where their ideas meet the Group’s operational reality, and each takes home a €6,000 prize. The winning solution goes furthest, with an estimated €40,000 to bring its technology to life in a pilot within an Abertis business unit and contribute to the Zero Accidents vision.

Applications are open until 16 November 2026. The three finalists will be announced on 22 December, and the winning startup on 23 February 2027.

Innovation that reaches the field

At Emovis, we partner with transport operators and agencies to transform operations through technology, so we fully support Abertis commitment to open innovation. Protecting the people who keep roads running is a shared responsibility, and we encourage our clients, partners, and the wider ecosystem to back this global call.

To see the full official program, visit the Abertis website.

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