DIH 4 Global Automotive: Securing €6M to launch Automotive Digital Innovation Hub

DIH 4 Global Automotive is a nationwide initiative coordinated by MOBINOV – Portugal’s Automotive Cluster, with participation from partner organizations and companies across the automotive ecosystem.

Operating as a digital innovation hub, it supports the digital transformation of Portugal’s automotive value chain at both product and process level, helping SMEs and startups connect to national and European innovation networks. The project positions itself as a single point of contact, helping companies respond to the technological and strategic challenges tied to the future of mobility.

The main challenge was structuring a Digital Innovation Hub able to meet the digitalization needs of Portugal’s automotive industry in an integrated way – a challenge made especially pressing by the sector’s sweeping transformation amid environmental, energy, regulatory and technological pressures.

The shift from cars as products to mobility as a service made it more urgent to speed up adoption of digital technologies and to support companies at different levels of maturity. Key constraints included the technical complexity of the applications, coordinating multiple partners, and fierce competition for national and European funding.

The approach rested on mobilizing partners, structuring the project technically and strategically, and preparing the applications and their budgets in phases – ensuring strategic coherence, technical quality, and alignment with the requirements of each funding instrument.

1. In the first phase, we prepared the application for Notice 01/2020 Digital Innovation Hubs, promoted by IAPMEI, which was approved.
2. Then, we developed the application for the European Digital Innovation Hubs competition (DIGITAL-2021-EDIH-01) under DG CONNECT, where the project earned a Seal of Excellence.
3. Lastly, we prepared and submitted the application under Notice No. 03/C16-i03/2022, part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, securing funding to implement the DIH’s activities.

Alongside this, we helped consolidate the hub’s value proposition and service offering:

• Test before you invest.
• Qualification and training in digital skills.
• Support in seeking investment funding.
• Facilitating adoption of new technology solutions.
• Supporting startups through incubation and acceleration.

The project delivered concrete results across its various phases – approval of the initial national application, the Seal of Excellence, and approval of a €6 million project with a planned three-year implementation.

Qualitatively, DIH 4 Global Automotive helped build a collaborative platform supporting the digital transformation of Portugal’s automotive sector, creating the conditions to speed up development of new products and solutions, improve processes, and strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs and startups in a fast-changing industry.

This case shows that building a digital innovation hub takes strategic vision, rigorous technical structuring, and the ability to mobilize institutions. It also shows that strong applications, well aligned with public-policy instruments, can be decisive in turning a strategic ambition into a funded, operational project.

The experience also confirms the value of collaborative models for supporting digital transformation, especially in sectors facing major technological disruption. The approach has potential to be replicated in other value chains and industrial contexts.