MODI achieves world-first cabless electric autonomous border crossing and customs passing – without a human driver onboard

Advancing from concept to real-world autonomous freight operations 

Hyper-automation of long-distance freight transport is one of Europe’s most complex innovation challenges. Cross-border automated driving is especially demanding due to: 

• Differing national traffic regulations 
• Variations in road signage and standards 
• Lack of harmonised operational rules 
• Complex customs and border management procedures 

Despite these obstacles, Einride’s system achieved a seamless autonomous crossing thanks to the tight technical integration between its cabless electric autonomous vehicle, its Autonomous Driving Stack (Einride Driver), and its cloud-based Control Tower, which supervises fleet operations in real time. 

To remove the need for a human driver to handle customs procedures at the border, Einride connected its technology to Norway’s Digitoll system through MODI partner Q-Free. Goods were digitally pre-declared, enabling the autonomous vehicle to complete both a green lane and a red lane crossing, demonstrating compliance with Norwegian customs procedures. 

This represents a first-of-its-kind demonstration of how digital customs, automation, and autonomous freight operations can be combined to significantly improve the efficiency, safety and sustainability of road transport. 

A key achievement for MODI and European CCAM deployment 

The autonomous crossing builds on MODI’s mission: supporting the safe and practical deployment of heavy-duty CCAM in real-life logistics operations. MODI brings together leading public authorities, research institutions, and industry partners to test automated freight solutions across a variety of European use cases. 

Henrik Green, CTO and General Manager for Einride Autonomous Technologies, commented: 

“We are immensely proud to have completed the world’s first cableless, electric, fully autonomous cross-border delivery. The MODI project perfectly embodies our commitment to extending autonomous capabilities, balancing safety with innovation to deliver real value for transport and logistics.” 

The demonstration also benefited from the strong collaboration between Swedish and Norwegian authorities and MODI partners including Statens Vegvesen, SINTEF, Q-Free, Trafikverket, and Indre Østfold kommune, and was carried out on behalf of PostNord, which manages nearly 200 million parcels annually across the Nordic region. 

Why this breakthrough matters for Europe’s logistics and mobility transition 

The MODI crossing is more than a technical demonstration – it is a strategic milestone that shows how Europe can: 

1. Reduce operational barriers for autonomouslogistics-Demonstrating fully autonomous operations at customs proves that cross-border CCAM is achievable when digital systems, automation, and harmonised processes are aligned. 
2. Support decarbonisation and zero-emission freight– Cablesselectric vehicles reduce emissions, noise, and fuel consumption while driving towards EU climate objectives for heavy-duty transport. 
3. Improve safety and efficiency-Einride’sautomated system integrates real-time monitoring, predictive control, and advanced sensing technologies – minimising risk and supporting safer freight operations at borders and other complex environments. 
4. Strengthen Europe’s global competitiveness – Europe now leads a world-first demonstration of autonomous customs crossing. As other regions accelerate CCAM adoption, this achievement reinforces Europe’s innovation leadership.
5. Advance the Physical Internet vision-Automated cross-border corridors support seamless, efficient, digitally coordinated freight flows- core to ALICE’s long-term vision for the Physical Internet. 

ALICE’s role in accelerating automated logistics

ALICE continues to support the transition toward automated, connected and zero-emission freight by: 

• Contributing to projects like MODI and CCAMbassador, focused on advancing automation from demonstrations towards deployment through pilot testing, stakeholder engagement, business model development and identification of key building blocks 
• Engaging with regulatory actors, policy makers and EU institutions on initiatives like Large-Scale Demonstration CCAM, Large-Scale Cross-Border Testbeds, European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA), etc., representing the logistics stakeholders 
• Supporting large-scale demonstrations and early deployment scenarios 
• Advancing the ALICE Roadmap on automation, multimodal freight corridors and energy transition 

The MODI cross-border success demonstrates that Europe is moving decisively towards real-world CCAM operations that can transform logistics efficiency, safety and sustainability across long-distance corridors. 

As the MODI project progresses, ALICE will continue sharing insights, lessons learned, and opportunities for broader deployment across Europe’s freight ecosystems. 

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