Transportation leader partners with incubator to advance public transportation and mobility solutions
SOMERVILLE, Mass., Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Greentown Labs, the largest cleantech incubator in North America, today announced Keolis as its newest Terawatt-level Partner—the highest level of engagement with the incubator. Keolis is a global leader in mobility innovation and public transportation operations. In North America, Keolis operates the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Commuter Rail, the Virginia Railway Express rail network, and multiple paratransit, light rail, bus rapid transit and taxi operations across the U.S. and Canada.
“Supporting the advancement and deployment of transportation and mobility innovations is one of our top focus areas at Greentown Labs and we’re thrilled to be partnering with one of the world’s mass transportation leaders,” said Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs. “Keolis has a global reach and deep transportation expertise, and we’re eager to see how our entrepreneurs and their executives collaborate to improve transportation solutions, infrastructure, and mobility around the world.”
As an industry leader, Keolis has taken steps to optimize its energy consumption and strengthen public transit around the world, including expansions to service in the greater Boston area. As the top cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, transportation releases almost 1.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the air each year, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Keolis’ partnership with Greentown Labs will allow the company to connect with startups innovating in transportation—one of the incubator’s core sectors—across areas including fuel cell electric vehicles, portable electric vehicle charging, and more.
“Our Keolis teams care deeply about providing clean, safe and reliable public transportation for the communities we serve. It is exciting to partner with Greentown Labs, which shares our commitment to developing innovative mobility solutions and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Clément Michel, CEO of Keolis North America. “We relocated our North American headquarters to Boston to take advantage of this region’s innovative and collaborative ecosystem. This partnership with Greentown Labs is another step in that direction, and together we hope to make a positive impact on the public transportation landscape, our climate and the communities we serve.”
Keolis’ executives will directly engage with the Greentown startup community via curated startup pitch days with vetted startups from the region; private sector pitch days which focus on specific business, technological and innovation trends within emerging technology sectors; office hours with Greentown’s resident startups and more. Through their partnership, Keolis will gain a seat on Greentown’s Advisory Board which provides strategic guidance and input to the incubator on growth planning, partnership development, and other topics throughout the year. Clément Michel will join the Advisory Board.
Greentown Labs and Keolis will celebrate the kickoff of their partnership at Greentown’s invite-only Transportation Sector Pitch Day on February 26 at Greentown’s headquarters in Somerville, MA. For more information about the event, please contact hello@greentownlabs.com.
About Greentown Labs
Greentown Labs is a community of bold, passionate entrepreneurs creating solutions for today’s biggest climate and environmental challenges. Located in Somerville, Massachusetts, and founded in 2011, the Greentown Labs Global Center for Cleantech Innovation is the largest cleantech incubator in North America, operating a 100,000 sq. ft. campus comprised of prototyping and wet lab space, shared office space, a machine shop, electronics lab, and a curated suite of programs and resources. Greentown Labs is home to more than 100 startups and has supported more than 250 startups since its inception. These startups have collectively created more than 6,500 direct jobs and have raised more than $750 million in funding. The incubator’s mission is to provide entrepreneurs with the community, resources, and space they need to thrive. For more information, please visit www.greentownlabs.com or on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
About Keolis
Leading the way in public transportation, Keolis partners with public decision makers to make shared mobility an asset for cities and their communities. Keolis adopts an innovative approach to develop new forms of shared and customized mobility, and reinforce its core business across a range of transport modes including trains, buses, coaches, trolleybuses, shared private hire vehicles, river shuttles, ferries, cycles, car sharing services, electric autonomous vehicles, and urban cable cars. Serving 16 locales in the Unites States and Canada, Keolis North America is headquartered in Boston as a true multimodal office. Learn more about how Keolis and its 60,000 employees are “Thinking Like a Passenger” at www.keolisnorthamerica.com.
Greentown Labs Media Contact:
Julia Travaglini, VP of Marketing + Communications
julia@greentownlabs.com
603-867-3657
Keolis Media Contact:
Tory Mazzola, Director of Public Affairs
media@keoliscs.com
617-222-8226