MORAVSKOSLEZSKY AUTOMOBILOVY KLASTR ZS

Their core work

Autoklastr is an automotive industry cluster association based in the Moravian-Silesian region of the Czech Republic — one of Central Europe's most concentrated automotive manufacturing zones. They function as a bridge between automotive SMEs, tier suppliers, and research institutions, giving smaller companies collective access to EU-funded R&D projects they could not enter alone. In H2020 projects they represent and mobilise the regional automotive ecosystem, contributing industry perspective, end-user requirements, and SME dissemination networks. Their value to a consortium is access to a vetted network of Czech and Slovak automotive companies who can test, validate, or eventually adopt research outputs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project (IMPACT, 2017–2019) was rooted in the connected car moment — when the automotive industry was grappling with software-defined vehicles, new data-driven business models, and shifting value chain structures. By the time of AMULET (2021–2024), the focus had moved decisively to decarbonisation: lightweight construction, CO2 reduction, and resource efficiency — concerns driven by Euro 7 regulation pressure and the electrification transition. The trajectory mirrors the Czech automotive sector's own evolution from digitalization anxiety to material and process transformation under climate mandates.

Autoklastr is tracking its member companies' shift from digital transformation toward emissions-reduction manufacturing — expect future activity around EV component supply chains, circular materials, and industrial decarbonisation in the automotive context.

How they like to work

Autoklastr has participated in every project as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with a cluster association whose role is to amplify others' research rather than lead it. Despite only two projects, they have built contact with 32 unique partners across 12 countries, which is a wide network for the volume of funding received, suggesting they actively engage across the full consortium rather than sitting on the periphery. Working with them means gaining a gateway into the Moravian-Silesian automotive supply chain, but project leadership and scientific direction will need to come from other partners.

With 32 unique consortium partners across 12 countries from just two projects, Autoklastr has built a disproportionately wide European network relative to its project volume, suggesting their consortium partners are large multi-partner innovation actions. Their geographic reach is pan-European with a natural anchor in Central European automotive manufacturing regions.

What sets them apart

Autoklastr's main differentiator is geography and access: the Moravian-Silesian region hosts a dense concentration of automotive tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers serving Hyundai, Toyota, and Škoda plants, and this cluster is a structured entry point into that network. For a research consortium seeking industrial validation, end-user testing, or SME dissemination in Central European automotive markets, Autoklastr offers a ready-made channel that individual research institutions cannot replicate. Their small EC funding footprint also means they are not competing for budget — they come as a network asset, not a budget line.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IMPACT
  The larger of the two projects (EUR 94,688) and the earlier engagement, addressing how connected car technology reshapes automotive value chains — a strategically important question for OEMs and tier suppliers navigating software-defined vehicle transition.
• AMULET
  Marks a clear pivot to decarbonisation-driven manufacturing — lightweight advanced materials and CO2 reduction — aligning Autoklastr with the regulatory and investment pressures now dominating the European automotive agenda.