metaCCAZE, an ambitious project coordinated by ERTICO, aligns with European strategies such as the EU’s Green Deal, the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, and partnerships like 2ZERO and CCAM, in its mission to propel cities into the era of green mobility. Last week, following a dynamic, in-person kick-off, metaCCAZE held an inaugural cluster meeting on “User-Centred Shared Zero-Emission Mobility”, to mark the commencement of a collaborative journey under the Horizon Europe framework and CIVITAS new thematic cluster “New Mobility Services”.
The European Green Deal and related initiatives target a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, aiming for a 90% reduction by 2050 and envisioning at least 30 million zero-emission cars on European roads by the same year. Addressing these challenges head-on, the metaCCAZE project leads the urban mobility transition by offering innovative solutions. It seeks to expedite the adoption of intelligent systems amalgamating electric, automated, and connected mobility elements, by developing pioneering technologies namely: grid supply-fleet demand, AI-Datawarehouse, automated charging, remote control center together with Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), and AI-based real-time planning for autonomous fleets, V2V and V2I protocols, electric vehicle scheduling and low emission traffic management, supply-demand matching for on-demand shared zero emission services, and digital twin optimisation. These technologies range from automated charging to AI-based real-time planning for autonomous fleets and low-emission traffic management.
The project’s focus encompasses both passenger and freight services, including autonomous and connected public transport, on-demand e-minibuses, e-bike and e-scooter sharing, and delivery services, as well as related infrastructure like mobility hubs and charging stations. The overall goal includes establishing 112 major climate-neutral cities by 2030, all of which present formidable challenges like inefficient electric vehicle charging and strains on power grids.
Dr Tamara Djukic, Senior Manager of Innovation and Deployment at ERTICO and Project Coordinator of metaCCAZE underlined how “in the project, the collaborative network of Living Labs is the core actor. They are conceived to “think globally, act locally”, highlighting the importance of global and European goals while stressing the need for local application of solutions. All Living Labs follow the ‘metadesign’ approach that allows their citizens and the cross-sectorial stakeholders to continuously design and experience the designs. While the boundaries between the roles dissolve, new roles emerge, and the roles are highly dynamic. This approach will verify the long term, seamless and user-centric deployment of the metaCCAZE’s solutions in the current ecosystems beyond the project”.
To validate the efficacy of these technologies in real-world, urban settings, metaCCAZE will conduct extensive demonstrations in four Trailblazer Cities—Amsterdam, Munich, Limassol, and Tampere—before transferring successful solutions to six Follower Cities (Athens, Krakow, Gozo, Milan, Miskolc, and the Paris region). Cross-fertilisation and collaborative design activities at the local level will ensure that these innovations meet the needs of citizens and urban mobility stakeholders. Drawing upon the strengths of partnerships like CCAM and 2Zero, as well as initiatives such as the CIVITAS Initiative and the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, metaCCAZE endeavours to co-design smart systems and services tailored for user-centric, shared zero-emission mobility in urban areas.
Dr Djukic conveyed optimism regarding synergising with the urban mobility community and harnessing the potential emerging from collaborative efforts. She highlighted the invaluable support of EU initiatives and innovative platforms in the journey towards achieving net-zero emissions in Living Labs projects. Dr Djukic also pointed out that metaCCAZE is also well aligned with ERTICO’s City Moonshot initiative, which aims to engage, inspire, and empower cities by understanding their needs and requirements in relation to mobility and transport.
