GRUBER Logistics represents Italy in the European Commission project on autonomous driving for heavy-duty vehicles
Nearly €30 million in investments to test autonomous driving in heavy-duty vehicles across operational freight transport environments
Oslo, 5 October 2022. The European Commission has decided to accelerate research in the field of autonomous driving for freight transport by financially supporting pilot projects directly in operational environments. Through the Horizon Europe framework programme, Europe’s foremost funding programme for research, the European Commission has awarded a grant of €23 million, with a total budget of approximately €28 million, to a consortium of 29 partners to test and validate the implementation of autonomous driving solutions.
A key aspect of the project is the strong presence of major players from the European logistics industry, such as VOLVO, EINRIDE, DAF TRUCKS, DFDS, MOLLER – MAERSK and GRUBER Logistics.
The so-called MODI project will test solutions at the most advanced level of automation—operating without a driver on board—and will run for 4 years. The tests will be conducted along the motorway corridor extending from Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Moss, Norway, crossing four national borders and supporting terminal operations in four different Northern European ports. In addition, a dedicated test will be carried out within the city of Hamburg.
Northern European countries are thus confirmed as the undisputed drivers of automation processes in logistics, considering the location of the tests, the origin of the partners, and the fact that, in this project as in the past, a Northern European player is acting as lead partner. In this case, the main promoter is indeed ITS Norway, a state-owned company dedicated to digitising Norwegian transport networks.
Compared to the past, the novel element is represented by GRUBER Logistics, an Italian company that recently made European headlines with the acquisition of Germany’s Universal Transport, confirming itself through this new initiative as one of the most dynamic companies in the European logistics landscape.
GRUBER Logistics not only represents the only Italian company in the consortium, but also the only company from Southern Europe.
Automated transport will contribute significantly to improving European transport and logistics chains, primarily addressing the driver shortage issue and therefore Europe’s transport capacity. The goal is not to completely automate transport, but rather to simplify drivers’ work and concentrate human capital on those tasks where the added value of the transport service provided is highest.