The European Union is closely looking at its industry competitiveness as a key policy focus. For the mobility sector, this is particularly true in the context of the digital and green transitions. The “Competitiveness Compass” and the “Clean Industrial Deal” are key initiatives aimed at bolstering the EU’s industrial strength, addressing challenges like high energy costs, supply chain vulnerabilities, and the need for innovation. The aim of this session is to bring together leading figures from Europe’s transport industry to discuss the enabling conditions needed to support the sector’s transition – and that of its value chain – toward cleaner and smarter mobility.
The Industrial Round Table will examine how the European industry can establish a direction for progress leading up to 2030 and onward to 2050. The discussion should mainly focus on 3 questions: What is the status of Europe’s global leadership in the transport and mobility sector? How can research and innovation enhance the competitiveness of the sector? What are industry representatives’ expectations vis-à-vis the EU’s research and innovation activities for the sector in view of the next EU Framework Programme for R&I?
Speakers:
Carole Desnost, Director of Technologies, Innovation and Group Projets, SNCF
Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, Chief Technology Officer, Everllence
Jens Holtinger, Executive Vice President, Volvo Group’s Trucks Technology & Industrial Division
The session will explore the governance in transport R&I and the instruments that can boost the EU’s innovation capacities. It will look at the full innovation journey from fundamental research to market deployment and scale-up, analysing best practices of current instruments such as Horizon Europe and the Innovation Fund. It will discuss upcoming instruments in the next MFF with FP10 and the Competitiveness fund. It will also examine the current challenges faced by the EU alongside its innovation chains.
This session aims to find answers to the following questions: how can we address current challenges linked to transport R&I in the EU in both the short and long term? Which governance models are best to deliver on future of transport R&I? How can we tackle the gap between the fundamental research and deployment?
Keynote speaker:
Roland Jakab, Chief Executive Office, HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network
Panelists:
Dr. Maja Novakovic, Chair, Waterborne Technology Platform
Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director, Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking
Prof. Dr. Meike Jipp, Divisional Board Member for Energy and Transport, German Aerospace Centre (DLR)
Ms. Helene Niklasson, Chair, EUCAR
ALICE Theatre 15:00 – 15:30 presenation by the DECARMOBILE project (ALICE stand, Hall G – D14)
Resilient UAV Routes for Emergency Services Using 5G Networks – Denis Andres Maigualema-Quimbita, Victor Monzonis Melero, David Gomez-Barquero and Juan Vicente Balbastre Tejedor (submission number 292)
Testing Enhanced Emergency Braking in NLoS Scenarios: Comparing Radar and V2X Risk Estimation with Machine Learning – Tamás Márton Kazár, Roland Nagy, Árpád Török and Zsombor Pethő (submission number 456)
Keystone API Standard: A Modular Plug-and-Play Framework for Interoperable Transport Data Exchange – Zoe Petrakou, Charilaos Koutsis, Alex Papacharalampous, Alexeis Garcia Perez, Giulia Renzi and Paulo Cantillano-Lizana (submission number 747)
Adaptive Digital Twins (ADT) for Real-Time Condition and Health Monitoring of Powertrain Components – Manuel Van Rensbergen, Sachin Kumar Bhoi, Sajib Chakraborty and Omar Hegazy (submission number 1259)
Dynamic Control of Reconfigurable Urban Corridors in the presence of CAVs – Konstantinos Katzilieris, Emmanouil Kampitakis, Eleni Mantouka and Eleni Vlahogianni (submission number 1389)
A Colored Petri Net Model to assess dependability of Train-to-Train 5G NR V2X Communications for Virtual Coupling – Getachew Hagos Geleta, Marion Berbineau, Simon Collart-Dutilleul and Francesco Flammini (submission number 1461)
Mainstreaming rural mobility in sustainable urban mobility planning: a framework for rural-proofed SUMPs – André Freitas and Daniela Carvalho (submission number 28)
Enabling Maritime Digital Transformation through Data Harmonisation and Interoperability: Implementation of the EMSWe Regulation – Lorena Saez, Miguel Llop, Jorge Feliu, Ana Palanca, Ángel Laguna and Jaime Luezas (submission number 634)
Building Trust in Artificial Intelligence: A necessity for Railway applications – Clément Lefebvre, Vincent Lébé, Ricardo Mario Da Silva Ribeiro Pereira, Johan Sundell, Arnaud Jaoul, Kenza Saiah and Nenad Mijatovic (submission number 1032)
Assessment and alignment of Just-in-Time and Port Call Optimisation standardisation initiatives at international level – Gonzalo Sandiás Corbillón, José Andrés Giménez and Gabriel Ferrús (submission number 1405)
Toward a User-Centered Privacy Framework for Transport Data Sharing: A design framework for Trust, Control, and Participation – Karen Valitov, Soora Rasouli and Melvin Wong (submission number 1406)
CCAM-readiness assessment and strategic planning – Daniel Franco and Dr. Wolfgang Backhaus (submission number 1525)
In an international context marked by a global race for resources needed for the green transition, this session will focus on the competitiveness of European clean technologies. In a global context, it will explore the challenges that the EU faces to maintain its leadership in the development, manufacturing and deployment of these technologies. The session will look at the EU’s competitive strengths in comparison to other international players and highlight where European efforts should focus to maintain global competitive leadership in transport technologies, taking also into account the specific challenges faced by SMEs and start/scale-ups. The session will also look at best practices from other international players on clean tech competitiveness and whether they can be reproduced at EU level.
This session aims to find answers to the following questions: how can Europe regain or maintain leadership by focusing more on competitiveness? What is the added value of involving third countries into European research programs? How to maintain the European strategic autonomy, technology sovereignty and reduce dependencies from third countries?
Keynote speaker:
Glenn Schmidt, Vice President Global Sustainability, BMW Group
Panelists:
Alberto Maestrini, Chairman, SEA Europe and the VARD group
Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General for Mobility and Transport European Commission
Axel Krein, Executive Director, Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking
Doris Martetschläger, Supply Chain Operations Manager, IKEA supply AG
10:30-12:00 Strategic sessions
The session will explore the current state of charging infrastructure in Europe, (including the deployment of public, semi-public and private charging points, in particular for Heavy Duty and commercial vehicles at logistics hubs and depots), also highlighting the areas of relevance for smart and bi-directional charging.
It aims to bridge R&I and policy to co-develop strategic priorities for the future, and discuss how to further support the rollout of charging infrastructure, in line with the Automotive Action Plan: accelerating the roll-out of charging, grid access, V2X, the ‘European Clean Transport Corridor initiative’, and where relevant the ‘European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance’, as well as financial instruments like the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF).
The session would provide a strategic context for challenges and opportunities related to the deployment of charging infrastructure for EV and their integration to the grid and would contribute to the development of a comprehensive and sustainable transport system in Europe.
Moderator:
Eric von Breska (DG MOVE)
Rapporteur:
Beatriz Ildefonso (DG RTD)
Speakers:
Michael Bültmann (ABB)
Alessandro Bernardini (Iveco Group)
Mitra Qurban (DHL Group)
Ádám Tóth (E.ON)
Omar Hegazy (VUB)
Ports and airports are no longer just transit points—they are critical R&I platforms for the clean energy transition, serving as producers, importers, distributors, and users of sustainable fuels such as hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, synthetic fuels, and electricity.
This session explores how these strategic nodes are being transformed into integrated, multimodal energy and data hubs that support decarbonised logistics and mobility chains. Smart energy management, digitalisation, and automation R&D will be addressed as key tools to enhance operational efficiency, reduce emissions, and enable real-time optimisation tested through collaborative pilots. Case studies from Europe and beyond will highlight successful, replicable and scalable approaches.
The session will also identify R&I challenges and outline the research, regulatory and investment frameworks needed to accelerate scale-up, emphasising modular innovation, cross-sector collaboration and EU partnerships contributions to climate-neutral and resilient transport infrastructure.
Moderator:
Krzysztof Kuik (DG RTD)
Rapporteur:
Jaap Gebraad (WTP)
Speakers:
Annefleur Klaus (Schiphol airport)
Erwin Verstraelen (Port of Antwerp)
Helena Athoussaki (Motor Oil Group)
Klara Wittkowski (Airbus)
Jorrit Harmsen (TNO)
The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and related air pollution places zero-emission mobility at the center of urban mobility policies. This session explores strategies to decarbonise urban mobility through technology, integrated planning and behavioral change. It highlights that the transition goes beyond new tech, it requires transforming the mobility ecosystem to improve air quality, reduce noise and congestion, and ensure equitable access. Key themes include the role of electrified public transport (on rail, waterborne and road), integration of new and shared mobility services, and promoting multimodality to shift behavior and boost efficiency. The session also examines urban freight solutions, mobility hubs, and EV infrastructure challenges, emphasizing grid integration and spatial planning. Drawing on research and case studies, it presents pathways and trade-offs for achieving zero-emission transport.
Moderator:
Patrick Mercier-Handisyde (DG RTD)
Rapporteur:
Carmela Canonico (UITP)
Speakers:
Ádám Bodor (BKK)
Marc Rozendal (EIT Urban Mobility)
Katie Black (Transdev)
Johan Leveque (La Poste)
Manfred Seitz (Danube Commission)
14:00-15:30 Technical session 3
Numerical investigation of freight train aerodynamics: towards greener freight transport in Europe – Luca Corniani, Paolo Schito, James Bell, Ariane Wettig, Joao Pombo and Stefano Bruni (submission number 980)
Spatial analysis of online shopping returns: application to the Madrid Region – Daniela Castaño-Herrera, Álvaro Aguilera-García, Juan Gomez and José Manuel Vassallo (submission number 1026)
ASTROIT: An agent-based and multimodal simulation predicting the effects of disruptions on transport networks and identifying effective and eco-friendly mitigation measures – Tobias Rinnert, Corinna Koepke, Kris Schroven and Alexander Stolz (submission number 1344)
Modelling Freight-Induced Congestion Dynamics: A Regional Macroscopic Approach with FC-MFD Applications – Muhammad Tabish Bilal and Davide Giglio (submission number 1512)
Strategic planning of classification yards in rail freight – Daniel Haalboom and Nikola Bešinović (submission number 1535)
Smart urban freight transport: assessing the opportunity offered by automated vehicles – Antonio Comi, Davide Shingo Usami, Sevket Oguz Kagan Capkin, Hamid Aghel and David Gruhonjić (submission number 1597)
VRP meets Inland Waterway Transport: Predictive Routing for Zero-emission Vessels – Pauline Bernat and Charilaos Latinopoulos (submission number 301)
A Hierarchical Routing Strategy for Seamless Electric Vehicle Charging Service Using Autonomous Mobile Charging Robots – Jeong Seomun, Seunghyeon Lee and Jihye Byun (submission number 502)
Seamless Urban Mobility: A Multi-Modal Reservation Framework – Christos Makridis, Charalambos Menelaou, Stelios Timotheou and Christos G. Panayiotou (submission number 788)
From the Stations to the Surroundings: How Transfer Environment Shapes Public Transport Route Choices – Marianthi Kallidoni, Jesper Bláfoss Ingvardson and Otto Anker Nielsen (submission number 903)
The Price of Silence: Exploring Time and Distance Trade-Offs in Traffic Noise Exposure Aware Routing – Peter Nezval and Gyözö Gidofalvi (submission number 1427)
A Three-Phase Communication Strategy for Seamless Integration of Mobility-on-Demand and Public Transport – Chenhao Ding, Florian Dandl and Klaus Bogenberger (submission number 1452)
Optimizing logistics for a sustainable hydrogen economy: The HELO project – Stefan Walter (submission number 9)
The role of EU funding instruments and IPCEIs in enabling maritime decarbonisation – Paolo Guglia, Caterina Cobino and Andrea Borzacchiello (submission number 173)
Analysis of strategies for LH2 management onboard aircraft during overnight parking – Enrico De Betta, Francesco Mastropierro, Damiano Tormen, Gianvito Apuleo and Michele De Gennaro (submission number 299)
Novel Metal Hydride Cooling System in a Hydrogen Demonstrator Train: Design, Implementation and Technology Assessment – Alexander Wimmer, Markus Kordel, Isabell Moser, Eduardo de la Guerra Ochoa and Manuel Caballero Ocaña (submission number 373)
Evaluating the Potential of Hybrid Ship Retrofitting – Combining Tubercle-Assisted Propellers, Fuel Cells, and Liquid Inorganic H2 Carrier Storage – Rachmat Gunawan, Adrien Aubert, Daria Matignon, Thierry Pacini, Angeliki Deligianni, Leonidas Drikos, Nicholas Lekkas, Tapas Kumar Das, Weichao Shi, James Moore, Joseph Hodgson and Angélique Rouhan (submission number 649)
Advanced photovoltaic technologies for sustainable on board railways services – Anna Lina Ruscelli, Gabriele Cecchetti, Domenico Uomo and Piero Castoldi (submission number 1543)
Special sessions
The 2Zero and CCAM Partnerships have been key tools to plan and coordinate European collaborative R&D in the field of electrification and automation of road transport: this session will discuss their main achievements in Horizon Europe and their potential evolution in the next EU framework programme for 2028-2034. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between these two Partnerships, the Partnership on Batteries, and the European Commission, to further coordinate the European R&D efforts. The objective is to accelerate the transition of road mobility into electrification and automation by exploiting research results further into implementation. One option for the future is the setup of a new Joint Undertaking, which would support the competitiveness of the European automotive industry.
While essential to reach ambitious EU transport decarbonization targets, the market uptake of ZE-HDVs is still relatively low, with less than 1700 new ZEV-HDV registered in the EU in 2023/24. In cooperation with DG CLIMA, the JRC has carried out a technology state-of-art review of ongoing EU-funded R&I activities, revealing that further efforts in research, technological development and standardisation are needed. Building on this, and on a previous session held at TRA 2024 in Dublin, we will connect technology progress with lessons learned from demonstrations in the AEVETO Cluster projects. Aligned with 2ZERO, ERTRAC and ALICE roadmaps, this session provides a consolidated view of where Europe stands today, what has been achieved through R&I, and what needs to happen next to address systemic, technological and regulatory challenges. The session will consist of short presentations and a panel discussion with representatives of the European Commission, OEMs, Logistics, Battery industry and automation.
16:00-17:30 Special session
Europe’s freight transport system is facing a “perfect storm”: the need for deep decarbonization combined with a growing exposure to disruptions. This session examines how resilience strategies and decarbonization pathways interact in practice, sometimes reinforcing each other and sometimes creating difficult tradeoffs. A particular focus is placed on multimodal freight networks. Rail, inland waterways and short sea shipping are essential for sustainable transport, yet the operational complexity of multimodal systems makes them more vulnerable to disruptions, often driving operators and shippers back to road transport and undermining climate ambitions. By addressing affordability, service reliability, modal shift and climate resilient operations together, the session aims to highlight practical ways to balance decarbonization goals with resilient, competitive and disruption ready European freight networks.
09:00-10:00 Plenary session 3
This session will address the challenges linked to the resilience of transport systems. Transport systems can be subject to perturbation and deterioration due to climate change shocks, longer-term climate stresses and other disruptive events. They can also experience digital-related incidents (e.g. cybersecurity). Preparing transport systems resilience and making sure that they can adapt to disruption is crucial to ensure continuity of transport services and safety of passengers. This session will aim to provide examples and initiatives highlighting innovative solutions to reduce negative impacts of disruptive events on transport systems.
The session aims to find answers to the following questions: how can we adapt our transportation infrastructure to the effects of climate change? What kind of adaptation strategies do we need to make the whole system resilient? What are the main barriers to achieve this? How multimodal transportation companies and shippers respond to transport disruptions?
Keynote speaker:
Prof. Alan McKinnon, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Logistics, Kuehne Logistics University
Panelists:
Margarida Marques, European Coordinator, European Coordinator of the TEN-T Rhine-Danube corridor
Uroš Salobir, MSc, Director of the Strategic Innovation Department, ELES, d.o.o.
Dr. Ivan Jimenez Aira, Executive President, Bilbao Port Authority
Dr. Claudia Elif Stutz, Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport of Germany, State-Secretary for Transport
10:30-12:00 Strategic sessions
The EU’s reliance on material imports, the pressing need for improved resource productivity, and to reduce the carbon footprint are identified as critical issues that must be addressed. In response, the European Commission has introduced various strategies and regulations aimed at enhancing circularity including new battery regulations and proposals for stricter vehicle design and end-of-life management. Besides, collaboration across various sectors, including manufacturing, energy, finance, and waste management is required to achieve a true circular economy.
However, in their goal to embrace a Circular Economy approach, the European transport industries are facing challenges and boundaries and need to adopt new business models. The session will discuss advanced LCA and circular economy approaches for sustainable mobility solutions. Priorities for collaborative R&D will be discussed, as well as ideas for flagship projects to move Europe forward on its circularity ambition. This challenge is key for the competitiveness of transport industries and for the resources and technology sovereignty of Europe.
Moderator:
Thilo Bein (Fraunhofer)
Rapporteur:
Yanying Li (ALICE)
Speakers:
Anna Rossi (Forvia)
Hans Schurmans (Proximus)
Arthur-Hans Thellmann (Meyer Werft)
Andrea Gentili (DG RTD)
Klara Wittkowski (Airbus)
16:00-17:30 Technical session 6
A harmonised transport-specific LCA approach – Final results of the CSA TranSensus LCA – Thilo Bein, Felipe Cerdas, Nikolas Hill, Christian Junestedt, Gladys Moreac-Njeim, Anh-Linh Buivan, Mara Neef, Marina Simon, Diana Bartaune, Guido Sonnemann and Takunda-Yeukai Chitaka (submission number 294)
Standardizing GHG Emission Factors: A Critical Review and Gap Analysis – Bruna Rodrigues, Mehul Khandelwal, Alan Lewis, Nabil Abdalla, Kirsten Biemann, Stylianos Doulgeris, Giorgos Mellios and Nigel Jones (submission number 438)
Introducing circularity in public transport for greater sustainability: From strategy to action – Laura Lopez, Gabriele Grea, Danijel Hojski and Joseph Paul (submission number 615)
Operational tools for assessing environmental impacts and benefits in linear infrastructure: a systematic review – Carlos Morillas, Rodrigo Gil, Sergio Alvarez, Sara Martinez, Pinar Yilmazer and Lorenzo Franzoni (submission number 1013)
Public Transport Digitalization: Leveraging AI and Digital Twins for Smarter Urban Mobility Management – Jan Röhl, Conrad Jentzsch and Marta Woronowicz (submission number 1197)
Delays, dependencies, and development: Exploring circular aggregate use through the lens of lateness of action in Swedish construction – Linnea Eriksson, Anna Fredriksson and Mats Janné (submission number 1217)
09:00-10:00 Plenary session 4
Digitalisation of the transport sector is key to improve the efficiency, safety and sustainability of our transport systems. This involves automating processes in transport and production, enhancing connectivity and leveraging data analytics for better decision-making. Digitalisation impacts various aspects of our transport systems, including transportation infrastructure, logistics, mobility and the role of people. It has the potential to lead to new business models, improved traffic management, increased efficiency in operations and reduced environmental impact. This session will focus on the use of AI in the broader system, automation, cybersecurity and data spaces. The session will also explore the disruptive potential of digital technologies such as quantum computing.
The session aims to find answer to the following questions: what are the next big advancements in transport digitalisation? How to address the fast-paced changes brought by digitalisation and make sure they best serve the EU’s transportation system? How to certify AI for mission-critical applications? How can digitalisation support mobility management and law enforcement and what are the barriers of cybersecurity? Which fundamentals will be transformed in the system in terms of use of infrastructure, resilience and competitiveness?
Panelist:
Paola Cossu, CEO at Fit Consulting & Member of the Board of Directors at ALICE, TRA Vision 2024 winner
Stephane Petti, PhD, Principal Advisor, European Innovation Council Fund
Rugilė Andziukevičiūtė-Buzė, Managing Director, Transport Innovation Association Lithuania
Andreas Boschen, Executive Director, SESAR Joint Undertaking
10:30-12:00 Strategic sessions
This session explores how digitalisation can enable more efficient, sustainable, and resilient logistics across rail, road, air, and maritime transport. It addresses real-world challenges in multimodal coordination, where fragmentation still hinders performance and decarbonisation. Digital enablers, such as Artificial Intelligence, trusted data sharing frameworks, digital twins, smart connected assets and advanced connectivity, are discussed as integrated tools supporting adaptive planning, interoperability and automation. The session highlights concrete use cases and insights from infrastructure operators, industry experts and innovation initiatives (such as Intelligent Access), to identify practical priorities for future research and large-scale implementation towards Net-Zero Logistics over the next two years.
Moderator:
Paola Cossu (FIT Consulting)
Rapporteur:
Giuseppe Luppino (ALICE)
Speakers:
Wilhelm Patzner (CER Cargo)
Angelos Amditis (ICCS)
Lars Deiterding (HACON)
Szymon Oscislowski (DG MOVE)
Sascha Gill (United Waterways)
The potential of AI is increasingly being harnessed in the mobility sector, enabling smart mobility systems and solutions, increasing safety and efficiency. AI is gradually used in a diverse way: decision-support to autonomous action, detection of events, generation of synthetic data…
AI possesses some key characteristics for application in numerous transport related domains. For example, AI plays a key role in sustainable transport by optimizing fuel use and routing. Likewise, AI helps improve the efficiency of transport systems by optimising traffic and transport schedules and anticipating user demand patterns. AI can also facilitate proactive fleet upkeep by enabling predictive maintenance.
Yet, several avenues for research in AI and mobility remain to be explored: the use of AI to improve the synchronisation of fragmented infrastructure and transport modes by integrating data from different actors and transport operators, the deployment of AI driven charging network optimisation, the management of vulnerabilities created by the increased deployment of AI in smart mobility systems, the use of AI in validation and verification processes, especially the certification mission-critical applications, etc…
This session will present use cases of AI for smart mobility systems and identify priorities for future research and innovation in this sector.
Moderator:
Axel Volkery (DG MOVE)
Rapporteur:
Giovanni Circella (Uninversity of Ghent)
Speakers:
Elodie Petrozziello (EUI)
Margriet van Schijndel (TUE)
Francesco Flammini (University of Naples Federico II)
Maria Boile (CERTH)
Rita Somogyi (TERN)
15:30 – 17:00 Technical session 7
Levelling the Playing Field in EU Road Haulage: Enforcement Challenges and Early Lessons from Mobility Package I – Feyisayo Lari-Williams, Wouter Verheyen, Tim Breemersch and Bruno Van Zeebroeck (submission number 420)
Regulatory Divergence in Autonomous Vehicle Deployment: A comparative Study of the US, EU, and China – Carlos Luján Tutusaus, Justin Hidalgo Vélez, Oriol Flix Viñas and Nadia Martínez Sheikhi (submission number 818)
EU regulatory framework for transport and logistics: the path to low emissions, energy transition, and technology advancements through the ADMIRAL lens – Gabriel Dias, Elisabete Arsenio and Sofia Cerqueira (submission number 908)
Assessing the effectiveness of the EU passenger rights framework in the context of multimodal and smart mobility – Hai Anh Le (submission number 1007)
Comparative Analysis of Liability Frameworks for Automated Vehicles: Legal Readiness in the EU, US and China – Julia Roussou, Armira Kontaxi, Apostolos Ziakopoulos and George Yannis (submission number 1018)
Changing traffic regulation in Europe – impact of autonomous driving – Zsófia Farkas and Péter Gáspár (submission number 1504)