The Catalan cluster leads the Communication and Dissemination work package of MODI, one of the leading CCAM-related ongoing projects under the European Commission spotlight for the upcoming 3.5 years.

As of April 2023, among others, IN-MOVE has successfully delivered:

·       MODI’s Communication and Dissemination Strategy

·       MODI’s brandbook and corpotate identity

·       Design and implementation of MODI’s website

·       Set up and managing of MODI’s communication channels

·       Representation of MODI in international, regional events (EcoMobility Valencia, EUCAD Brussels, ITS Congress in Lisbon.)

 

IN-MOVE’s president, Enric Ticó, has highlighted the news of the incorporation to the MODI project as "it is a great opportunity to place our associates in the space where the mobility and logistics of the future will be analysed, decided and tested, and to do it with great resources and next to some of the best experts in the world". Ticó added that by joining the MODI project, "the cluster continues to position as a great generator of opportunities for companies in the sector that want to boost their presence and business opportunities at an international level". In this regard, it should be noted that 22% of the companies that have won a project within the framework of Shift2Rail are members of the cluster. Furthermore, it is essential to remark that IN-MOVE has experience in three previous European Projects:

·       STARS - innovative models for SMEs from the rail and multimodal sector to accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies.

·       EXXTRA - benchmark exchanges and cooperative experiences between rail clusters and business ecosystems.

·       ENTRANCE - European matchmaking platform to accelerate sustainable transport and logistics solutions among buyers, users, and investors.

MODI is a European cross-border initiative to accelerate the introduction of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility solutions to improve logistic chains significantly; the project was kicked off in Oslo in November 2022 and is currently under implementation course month six.

The MODI project will demonstrate automated heavy-haul vehicles without safety drivers use cases on the motorway corridor from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Moss in Norway, crossing four national borders and demonstrating terminal operations at four different harbours and terminals en route.

Automated transport will significantly contribute to improving European transport and logistic chains. The MODI research project will make substantial steps toward identifying and resolving barriers preventing this from coming true.

Automated transport - the future of logistics?

Introducing innovative, connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM) can lead to many positive societal effects, such as safer and more efficient transport everywhere and for everyone. In mobility, the logistics sector is unique because of the scarcity of heavy truck drivers, the pressure to reduce costs and the high utilisation of vehicles compared to private passenger transport. Therefore, profitable business cases due to the automated vehicles for the logistics sector are already very likely.

Even though the development of automated transport is accelerating, there are still many hindrances to overcome before we see a full-scale introduction of such transportation. These are related to the maturity of the technology itself but also to regulations, harmonisations, and social acceptance. The hindrances escalate when considering border-crossing transport.

With ITS Norway as project coordinator and IN-MOVE as communication leader, the ground-breaking MODI project aims to speed up the introduction of highly automated freight vehicles through demonstrations and to overcome barriers to rolling out automated transport systems and solutions in logistics. The transport corridor from the Netherlands to Norway has been chosen for demonstration activities. Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are among the European countries expected to be the first movers to implement fully automated vehicles.

The project comprises five use cases, each describing a part of the logistics chain. It identifies what is already possible on an automated driving level without human interaction (SAE level 4) and what is not possible yet. The project will focus on understanding and overcoming the regulatory barriers and infrastructure shortcomings on the motorway corridor for public roads. The confined areas are terminals located by Rotterdam, Hamburg, Gothenburg, and Moss ports. Each terminal focuses on challenges like access control, charging, coordination with automated guided vehicles, loading/unloading and handover from the public to confined areas.

In addition to the demonstrations, MODI provides detailed business models for the logistics sector, demonstrating that CCAM vehicles can lead to greater profits, especially when driving in a coordinated way.

Maturity and mix of partners representing the logistics value chain

The maturity and combination of the cooperation between leading companies and innovative, growing ones recognised for their real-world applications and expertise, as well as research organisations, paves the way for the replicability and sustainability of MODI outcomes.

The consortium comprises 29 partners, of whom 16 represent industrial organisations, vehicle providers, logistics associations, eight research organisations and universities, and five road authorities, public bodies, and cities/regions along the corridor, representing the complete value chain.

They include:

Industrial partners

·       VOLVO TECHNOLOGY AB, SE

·       EINRIDE AB, SE

·       DAF TRUCKS NV (DAF), NL

·       ENIDE, delivering digital solutions for sustainable mobility and logistics

·       Q-FREE NORWAY (QFREE), NO

·       TECHNOLUTION BV (TEC), NL

·       DFDS AS (DFDS), DK

·       A.P. MOLLER – MAERSK A/S (MAE), DK

·       GRUBER LOGISTICS S.p.A., IT

·       GOTHENBURG RORO TERMINAL AB, SE

·       APM TERMINALS MAASVLAKTE II BV, NL

 

Research organisations

·       ASTAZERO AB, SE

·       SINTEF AS, NO

·       NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK (TNO), NL

·       TRANSPORTØKONOMISK INSTITUTT (TØI), NO

·       BUNDESANSTALT FUER STRASSENWESEN (BasT), GE

·       LINDHOLMEN SCIENCE PARK AKTIEBOLAG, SE

·       TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN, NL

·       STICHTING HZ UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, NL

Clusters & Industrial networks

·       ITS NORWAY, NO

·       IN-MOVE, cluster in Mobility and Multi-Modal Logistics, ES

·       ALICE, BE

·       CLEPA, BE

·       NMS NEW MOBILITY SOLUTIONS HAMBURG GMBH, DE

 

Public authorities

·       STATENS VEGVESEN, NO

·       MINISTERIE VAN INFRASTRUCTUUR EN WATERSTAAT, NL

·       STATENS KARTVERK, NO

·       FREIE UND HANSESTADT HAMBURG, DE

·       VIKEN FYLKESKOMMUNE, NO

 

Project Factsheet Acronym: MODI - A leap towards SAE L4 automated driving features                     Call: HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01                                                                                                                                              Type of Action: HORIZON-IA   Duration: 1 October 2022 - 31 March 2026                                                                                                      Coordinator: ITS NORWAY Total cost: € 27 992 880                                                                                                                                                                EC contribution: € 23 030 095

 

Contact Project Coordinator: Mrs Ragnhild Wahl, ITS NORWAY,  (ragnhild.wahl [at] its-norway.no) Dissemination Coordinator: Mr. Daniel Fernández de Soto, IN-MOVE,  (dfernandez [at] railgrup.net) Website: https://modiproject.eu/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/modi-project/            Twitter:  @MODI_CCAM