The RTR Conference 2025 concluded after three days of insightful discussions, showcasing the results of EU-funded road transport projects while fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among key initiatives.
ERTICO colleagues, project partners, and ERTICO partners actively contributed to the event. They presented key project developments under the 2ZERO Partnership, ERTRAC, and the CCAM Partnership, co-organisers of the event. Their participation reinforced ERTICO’s commitment to shaping the future of smart, sustainable, and connected mobility while strengthening synergies with other EU-funded projects.
With 90 projects taking centre stage, the RTR Conference provided a deep dive into technical findings and deployment strategies aimed at advancing a more sustainable, intelligent, and efficient road transport ecosystem. As the EU shifts from research to large-scale deployment, discussions focused on accelerating the implementation of innovative solutions in key areas such as EV charging infrastructure, logistics, the rollout of CCAM solutions, and road safety. Through these initiatives, the European Union continues to drive cross-border cooperation, ensuring that groundbreaking research translates into real-world impact and contributes to a seamless, integrated mobility landscape.
Maria Pia Fanti (POLIBA), project coordinator of the IN2CCAM project, took part in a session dedicated to the integration and large-scale demonstration of CCAM solutions. The discussion, which also featured the CONDUCTOR, MODI, ULTIMO, and Move2CCAM projects, explored strategies to bridge the gap between CCAM R&D and market readiness. The session concluded by highlighting key success factors for scaling up demonstrations, including the need for a larger fleet of vehicles, public authorities prepared to plan, approve, and support testing, seamless integration and interoperability, and an adapted legislative and regulatory framework. These elements are essential in accelerating the deployment of CCAM solutions, ensuring their transition from research to real-world implementation.
The eCharge4Drivers project, represented by Dr. Vasilis Sourlas from ERTICO partner ICCS, participated in a session on Electric Vehicle (EV) charging, along with the FLOW, XL-Connect, and DriVe2X projects. The session showcased innovative solutions that benefit both users and the grid. Dr. Sourlas presented the eCharge4Drivers solutions and services designed to enhance the user experience, sharing key results and achievements of the project. These include the project’s charging point location planning tool to foster investment in the charging infrastructure, interviews conducted with a wide range of stakeholders to determine the legal gaps slowing down infrastructure expansion, and improved interoperability. He also presented survey results showing that users found the project solutions intuitive and effective, highlighting the value of user engagement in developing future EV charging services.
The eBRT2030 project participated in the “Zero Emission Systems for HDV” session during the last day of the conference. The project presented its first results and demonstration activities conducted in Barcelona, Athens, and Prague. It also highlighted international initiatives based on the outcomes of previously funded projects, such as SOLUTIONSplus. These efforts underline eBRT2030’s commitment to advancing sustainable electric Bus Rapid Transit systems and driving innovation in zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles.
The SUM Project, alongside MOVE21, SCALE-UP, and Gemini, led an engaging session on “New Mobility Services in Cities,” showcasing efforts to advance sustainable urban mobility. Giulia Petrarulo, SUM’s project coordinator, highlighted the project’s origins, achievements, and outlook, sparking a lively discussion on data sharing, infrastructure investments, and the fragmentation of mobility systems. The session emphasised the need for cross-border collaboration, standardization, and governance frameworks that prioritise accessibility.
The Strenght_M and LeMesurier projects were showcased in the Exhibition Area as Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) of ERTRAC and 2ZERO Partnership, respectively. The event provided a valuable platform to highlight the Partnership’s role in advancing zero-emission road transport and to showcase how the LeMesurier project contributes to monitoring and measuring the 2ZERO’s effectiveness in achieving its objectives by evaluating and quantifying the KPIs defined in its SRIA. Several 2ZERO projects mentioned their participation in the LeMesurier KPI assessment, reinforcing the collaborative effort towards sustainable mobility.
The Strenght_M project was also showcased. Running until January 2026, Strenght_M focuses on shaping a future vision for the European road transport, working closely with key stakeholders to tackle challenges in the green transition. The project identifies future research needs in road transport, updates and coordinates strategic research agendas and roadmaps, and strengthens collaboration among Horizon Europe partnerships and platforms. It also analyses barriers to deploying research outcomes across technology, infrastructure, ecosystems, and user perspectives.
As part of its mission, FAME, along with the CCAM Partnership supports the European Commission in organising the European Conference on Connected and Automated Driving EUCAD. The 2025 edition of the conference will take place at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy, from 13 to 15 May 2025. AT RTR FAME provided information and guidance regarding the upcoming event. The EUCAD 2025 programme currently features three main thematic sessions, complemented by 18 parallel sessions to discuss specific R&I challenges and highlight relevant European projects.
As a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) FAME is dedicated to fostering collaboration among CCAM stakeholders to provide a long-term coordination framework necessary for R&I and large-scale testing and evaluation activities in Europe. Building on the legacy of EU-funded Coordination and Support Actions ARCADE, CARTRE, VRA and FOT-Net, FAME will run up until June 2025. Some of FAME’s objectives include the establishment of a European framework for CCAM testing activities, the development of a common evaluation method (CEM) and most importantly the maintenance and further enhancement of the CCAM Knowledge Base (KB). FAME’s KB acts as a centralised hub for information on CCAM R&I projects (national and EU-level) and their test sites, standards, regulations & policies, evaluation methodologies, roadmaps & national strategies, taxonomy, data sharing, empowering stakeholders involved in road automation.
