In order to respond to new market challenges, companies have attempted to develop open innovation processes with other organizations such as research centers and higher-education institutions. However, it is also frequently mentioned by several companies that the lack of models that support open innovation in a sustainable way, involving higher-education institutions or research centers and companies in the context of a collaborative environment, is an obstacle for a wider acceptance of this way of promoting innovation processes. Starting with some discussion about innovation models in a collaborative context, this paper discusses the developed of an electric vehicle based on an open-innovation approach among several companies and a Portuguese university.