The start-up is the only Irish entry across all start-up categories to have earned a spot in the western Europe regional finals.
Hibra Design, a Cork-based vehicle specialist development company, has earned a place at the western Europe regional finals of the Global Start-up Awards (GSA). The organisation has been shortlisted in the Greentech Start-up of the Year category.
Founded in 2022 by Mike Keane, Hibra Design is an automotive engineering development company that creates sustainable and bespoke vehicle solutions with a focus on clean technology powertrain systems. The company develops new systems to allow fossil-fuel powered vehicles to be re-engineered with battery electric systems.
The GSA originated in Denmark in 2012 with the launch of the Nordic Start-up Awards. Since then, its co-founders Kim Balle and Peter Kovacs have introduced a unifying brand to connect all regional competitions under one umbrella. Currently, the competition includes 19 regions across 154 countries.
The aim of the GSA is to empower innovative entrepreneurs, enable ecosystem collaboration and build thriving innovation economies, through global competition, events, collaboration and community building.
Commenting on the news, Keane – who is also Hibra’s CEO – said: “Having won the 2024 Irish National Start-up award for Product and Manufacturing, we are thrilled to now see our achievements be held up against the best in the world. We develop completely new, bespoke vehicles to client specifications and we also re-engineer existing vehicles with battery electric technology for fleet operators.
“We provide state-of-the-art solutions which offer improved vehicle performance, whilst showing a commitment to both clean technology and circular economy principles. Being named a regional finalist by the Global Start-up Awards is a powerful validation of this commitment.”
GSA finalists are selected by an expert jury sourced from across 154 countries. Category winners will be announced on 18 February, with the winners from each region progressing to the global finals in Valetta, Malta in early May.
Also in Cork, Qualcomm Technologies recently announced a €125m investment to upgrade its Cork city site into a “strategic AI pillar” over the next three years. The investment is set to support the creation of around 300 additional roles, which will see the company’s workforce in the city grow to more than 1,000 people.
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