Hesion Park at the Industries du Futur 4.0 trade show

The Industries du Futur 4.0 trade show took place on 19 and 20 November. Now in its 5th year, the event brought together key industry players from across Europe. With attendance up 20%, this year’s edition proved particularly popular. Artificial intelligence and energy were the headline topics. But urban mobility was also firmly on the agenda ! Naturally, Hesion could not miss this opportunity.

Hesion, hosted by the Swiss Business Hub

For the 2019 edition, Switzerland was the guest country of honour. A dedicated pavilion brought together businesses and start-ups. Hosted by the Swiss Business Hub, Hesion Switzerland attended the Swiss Pavilion. It was an opportunity to showcase its involvement in the themes of « Smart Convergence on Smart Cities and Industry ».

A trinational round table on urban mobility

Our company took part in a trinational round table on mobility in the city of tomorrow. The aim was to discuss innovations that combine environmental responsibility with cost savings in Smart Cities. Moderated by Olivier Mirguet, a journalist at La Tribune, the panel featured :

• Lukas Ott, Head of Development for the City of Basel and the Canton of Basel-Stadt;
• Catherine Rapp, Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning and Urban Renewal at Mulhouse City Council and Haut-Rhin Departmental Councillor – Canton of Mulhouse ;
• Christof Balles, Digital and IT Director for the City of Freiburg-im-Breisgau ;
• Sandra Robyr, Architect and Urban Planner, and Member of the Cantonal Urban Planning Commission of the State of Geneva
• and Pierre Guillet, CEO of Hesion Switzerland.

Reducing energy use at the heart of the debate

The speakers reviewed urban mobility projects implemented in France, Switzerland and Germany. Topics included multimodal transport, shared mobility (car sharing and carpooling), intermodality, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), public, residential and workplace parking, and active mobility. Reducing energy use naturally became a central theme of the discussion.

The discussion explored ways to help people use their cars less. This is a very different approach from encouraging consumers to switch to electric vehicles at all costs. The speakers also highlighted solutions that make mobility easier by optimising existing infrastructure. Harnessing new technologies appears essential to achieving this.

A strong commitment to French-German-Swiss partnerships

Reda Mebarki, our Hesion representative in Switzerland for over a year, also spoke during a pitch session introducing Swiss companies.

Overall, this French-German-Swiss gathering highlighted a range of perspectives, whether in terms of transport habits, cultures or approaches to the smart city. Strengthening cross-border partnerships in these areas would undoubtedly offer an opportunity to benefit from the best industrial advances in each country through productive collaboration.

In the years ahead, smart urban mobility looks set to be a priority challenge for local authorities. Beyond environmental considerations, it calls for a fresh vision of our society and our habits. A long-term approach must also address the economic issues and the challenges of competitiveness, attractiveness and smooth transport flows facing cities. As a trusted partner to local authorities, Hesion works tirelessly to develop smart parking solutions for better urban mobility.