Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) has launched the “LANDCROS Innovation Studios Mining Challenge”, a project which solicits ideas from startup companies around the world targeting the field of mining.
There are three mining-related challenge themes:
- Smarter machines
- Smarter mine sites
- Low impact and sustainable mining (reducing the environmental impact across mining operations and achieving sustainable resource mining)
HCM will select about three companies per theme up to a total of 10 companies from among the applicant companies.
Successful applicants will be invited to a pitch event to be hosted on April 16, 2026, at the event venue in Brisbane, Australia (Oceania region), which is the world’s largest mining market.
One company will ultimately be selected as the winner for each theme, and HCM plans to collaborate with the selected companies.
This project will be jointly implemented together with UK-based Founders Factory, a leading global tech accelerator and venture studio with extensive knowledge and experience in scaling innovation across mining and industry.
About LANDCROS Innovation Studios
The “forum for collaborative innovation” aims to accelerate ties with startup companies and create new businesses that HCM is expanding globally.
Its goal is to function not only as a physical location but as an ecosystem where Hitachi Construction Machinery’s group companies, customers, startup companies, and challengers from various industries intersect and jointly create future forms of value.
Last year’s “Hitachi Construction Machinery Challenge 2024” solicited ideas regarding the development of connected construction machinery and received applications from 127 companies around the world. HCM is currently collaborating with the three winning companies.
HCM’s mining business focuses on open-pit mining, and its strength lies in the ability to offer products and solutions that solve customer challenges across diverse touch points from pit to plant in the mining site. This is achieved not only through the mining process where mining machinery is used, but also by welcoming companies responsible for mine operation management and data analysis, mill liners and other wear-resistant parts used in mineral processing, and remanufacturing and maintenance services.
The application deadline is January 20, 2026.
More information: https://innovationstudios.hitachicm.com/