Extreme Mobility Challenge Grant

Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME)

About this grant

The Extrême Défi (XD) is a systemic, collaborative programme initiated and designed by ADEME, the French environment and energy agency, to develop a new industry of intermediate vehicles (véhicules intermédiaires) that sit between the bicycle and the car. It aims to offer affordable, low-carbon everyday mobility solutions, particularly for rural and peri-urban territories, while creating non-offshorable jobs in assembly, maintenance and refurbishment. The programme is organised into phases. The Ideation phase is funded by ADEME through a defined process: teams of at least three people develop vehicle concepts, with deliverables published under Creative Commons licences on the programme wiki. Funding for this phase is capped at 10k EUR, with a maximum aid rate of 70%. The Prototyping and Experimentation phase is funded by ADEME in 2023 and 2024, with counterparts to be co-designed with beneficiaries, including circulation of prototypes in defined territories. A Pre-series and Industrialisation phase includes a distributed-factory call for projects aimed at certifying assembly and maintenance of vehicles, and France 2030 calls support intermediate vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers. Beyond direct grants, the page describes non-financial roles: candidate teams, industrial partners who can provide mentoring, equipment or training, local authorities that host prototype trials, schools and research laboratories that join working groups or co-finance PhD theses, and witnesses or pioneers who promote the programme or test vehicles. Several ADEME research calls (PERFECTO, APRED, PREVER) are listed, with some marked open and others closed. ADEME explicitly invites other public and private funders, including foundations, to co-finance the programme and phases. Co-funders are directed to the programme contact address.

Eligibility

Candidate teams must have at least three people and may engage in one or more phases: ideation, prototyping, experimentation and industrialisation. Industrial partners, local authorities (communes, intercommunalities, rural territories), research laboratories and schools, and individual pioneers or beta-testers may also participate in non-grant roles. The ideation phase funding is limited to 10k EUR with a maximum aid rate of 70%, implying that applicants must provide at least 30% of costs from other sources. The page does not state explicit organisation-type restrictions, a minimum company age, or prior-recipient rules for the overall programme. Specific research calls carry their own eligibility rules, which are not detailed on this page.

Key requirements

• ✓Participate in creativity sessions to design new rolling-object concepts
• ✓Prototype vehicles and test them with users in partner territories
• ✓Plan industrialisation and identify regional, national or ADEME funding sources for each phase

Funder contact

The notice names a programme contact you can speak to before applying.

Frequently asked questions

How much funding does Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME) offer?

Extreme Mobility Challenge offers $11K.

Who can apply for Extreme Mobility Challenge?

Eligibility covers organisations in FR; startup, sme, large-company, research-institution, consortium. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Electric mobility funding supports electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, battery supply chains and fleet transition for buses, vans and trucks. Public authorities buy vehicles and charge points through tenders, while grants back pilots and manufacturing. Applicants usually need site plans, grid capacity checks and an operator for the finished assets.