Introduction

Europe needs to manage the transformation of supply-based transport into safe, resilient and sustainable transport and demand-driven, smart mobility services for passengers and goods. Suitable research and innovation will enable significant safety, environmental, economic and social benefits by reducing accidents caused by human error, decreasing traffic congestion, reducing energy consumption and emissions of vehicles, increasing efficiency and productivity of freight transport operations. To succeed in this transformation, Europe’s ageing (and not always sustainable) transport infrastructure needs to be prepared for enabling cleaner and smarter operations.

Scope

– More efficient, effective and sustainable management of goods and freight flows in (air)ports and inland terminals, taking into account all costs (economic, social and environmental) of the proposed solutions/innovations, including externalities and possible rebound effects.
– Expanded throughput of the nodes thanks to increased operational efficiency and optimised use of assets and infrastructures, without expanding the physical facilities.
– Improved access to transhipment services at reduced costs.
– More visible and standardised services provided within the multimodal freight transport nodes, seamlessly accessible by end users to maintain continuous door-to-door tracking of freight locations and boost shifting cargo to more efficient and sustainable transport modes.
– Increased automation, digitalisation, standardisation and interoperability of processes, technologies and equipment, particularly intermodal transport units (ITUs) and cargo transport/transhipment procedures in multimodal freight transport nodes.
– Better integration of the various freight transport nodes into overall logistic chains.

Objectives

– Building on previous EU and other funded projects, and enabling compatibility with legacy systems, demonstrate and quantify the benefits of using different intermodal transport units (ITUs) and innovative automated loading systems to support multimodal logistics operations.
– In line with the strategy for EU international cooperation in research and innovation, international cooperation on standardisation of ITUs is encouraged.
– Building on previous and on-going Horizon 2020 and CEF funded projects and the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum’s findings, deploy and demonstrate advanced cooperative logistics IT solutions in actual operational environment (minimum at TRL 7) focusing on better integration of the nodes in overall supply chains and the accessibility and usability of node services in an automated/digital manner, with a user perspective approach.
– Capitalising on previous Horizon 2020 projects, demonstrate the effectiveness of new business models and collaborative approaches able to support cooperative logistics operations with focus on the provision of open logistics nodal services.
– Ensure compatibility with existing and emerging EU logistics standards such as the European Maritime Single Window environment for maritime transport and the platforms for Electronic Freight Transport information and with the outcomes of initiatives such as the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF).

Introduction

To achieve secure and trustworthy interaction between vehicles, infrastructure and road users, robust (e.g. weather resilient) and accurate on-board environment positioning and perception systems are essential for the extraction of reliable information required for real- time driving decision-making

Scope

The proposed actions are expected to address the development and demonstration of each of the following aspects:

– More powerful and reliable embedded in-vehicle perception systems with increased performance, (weather) resilience and accuracy based on enhanced sensing, localization (with reliable, dynamic, high-definition digital maps, reliable and precise location from EU satellite navigation services) and improved object/person classification and cognition (with greater integration with infrastructure-based perception systems and other vehicles to complete data fusion and real time updates)

– System self-assessment methods for environment perception technologies and improved hardware integration into the vehicle

– On-board, real-time, fail-safe, unambiguous and traceable decision-making systems for safe Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs)

Objectives

– Determination of the appropriate compositions of cost-efficient sensor suites that most effectively and reliably deliver the lateral, spatial and temporal resolution needed for real-time driving decision-making of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs)
– Ability to perform advanced environment and traffic recognition and prediction, limiting false detections and non-detections of obstacles, with particular attention to Vulnerable Road Users (VRU)
– Ability to determine the appropriate course of action of a CAV in a real world environment with a wide range of traffic scenarios and identify use cases
– Availability of robust, transparent and accurate systems to enable the safe and reliable operation of automated vehicles in expanding Operational Design Domains (ODDs)
– Standardization mandate for performance requirements for environment perception
systems with respect to different automation levels and ODDs

Europe needs to improve the cost efficiency of the access to space ground facilities and of launch systems production and operations for the strategic launchers essential for the implementation of EU space programme. The activities address technologies maturation applicable to strategic launch systems able to launch EU Space Programme components, with the objective of enabling operational capacities by 2030

– Multi sites flexible industrial platform
– Develop standardised and cost effective innovative technologies to improve cost efficiency of existing Test and Launch facilities, their interoperability and compatibility/attractiveness for new users

– Contribution to the overall objective of launch cost/price reduction by 50% by 2030
– Improve cost efficiency of existing European test, production and space launch facilities
– Feasibility study of an industrial platform (perimeter, technologies, costs)
– Matured technologies up to TRL 5/6 standardized technology for improving cost efficiency, interoperability of access to space ground facilities in EU, ground assets portability to speed-up deployments

There are emerging opportunities in space transportation that are not yet seized by European actors characterised by new uses of space (e.g. small satellites, larger constellations and payload recovery) new destinations (e.g. direct GEO, re-entry from LEO)

– “Low thrust” green and low cost propellant functional propulsion systems and vehicle system aspects of existing propulsion systems
– Green engine, attitude control systems (RACS), thruster, ignition, fluid control equipment, propellant tank
– Actuation systems and pyrotechnic systems, light weight structure concepts for micro launchers and re-entry vehicles
– Smart and flexible dispenser for multi-satellites, constellations, and payloads launch solutions
– Advanced avionics, attitude orbital module and re-entry module, descent and landing
– GNC, autonomous localization and termination, modern TM/TC data handling, low-cost and modular avionics, automated rendezvous, capturing and spacecraft management technologies, avionics and test bed

– Contribute to EU Green Deal through the reduction of the environmenta impact of space transportation
– Contribute to expand commercial space transportation offer and services with new space
transportation solutions
– Design and performance studies as well as business cases
– Matured technologies up to TRL5-6 including functional and qualification test on ground

Intro

Sustainable agricultural production systems not only deliver nutritious food and other raw materials, they are also key drivers of economic growth in rural areas. Unsustainable agricultural systems can cause a variety of adverse environmental effects, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and air and water pollution due to poor management of nutrients.

Scope

– Optimise and harmonise nutrient and water flow models, indicators and data for quantification and assessment to prevent or reduce environmental pollution caused by nutrients
– Explore and assess safe alternative nutrient sources and pathways
– Enhance nutrient use efficiency at different levels.
– Analyse climate change effects of certain nutrient flows
– Develop biological models for nutrients flows
– Develop digital platforms to allow precision nutrient management at farm scale and landscape scale

Objective

– Improve nutrient budget and flows
– New approaches and methods supported with sound indicators to monitor and measure nutrients flows
– Identification and targeted implementation of individual or combined region-specific agricultural practices that help balance nutrient cycles
– Improved nutrient budget at different scales