Mobility in the spotlight in Horizon Europe

Mobility will be given pride of place in Horizon Europe, in order to reach the ambitious objectives of the Green Deal and to achieve the digital transition. After presenting the structure of the successor to Horizon 2020, Mov'eo details the Union's objectives in terms of Research & Innovation in transport and mobility for the first four years of Horizon Europe.

The new structure of Horizon Europe, with an enlarged second pillar The second pillar of Horizon Europe, entitled "Global challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness", will bring together the "Industrial Leadership" and "Societal Challenges" pillars of its predecessor Horizon 2020.

A dense Cluster 5, which brings together the themes of climate, energy and mobility.   This new second pillar will be divided into 6 Clusters, including Cluster 5, which brings together the "Climate, Energy and Mobility" themes, which the Commission has proposed to provide with €15 billion for the period 2021-2027. The Strategic Plan, which is still under negotiation for a few months, wants the projects to have the following impacts:

New solutions in the fields of transport and energy to ensure both the energy transition and the decarbonisation of transport
Reducing CO2 emissions and other pollutants in the field of transport, while strengthening the competitiveness of European companies in the sector and the development of new technological solutions.
New intelligent, inclusive, sustainable and affordable mobility services that will deliver significant environmental and safety benefits, including reduced accidents, less congestion, reduced energy consumption and vehicle emissions, increased efficiency and productivity of transport operations, improved working conditions and job creation.

The first strategic orientations of the "Climate, Energy and Mobility" cluster On this basis, strategic orientations in terms of R&I have been defined for Cluster 5. Orientation 4.2 aims at the development of cross-sectoral solutions to support decarbonisation efforts. This refers in particular to the development of a European battery value chain, from materials to electrochemistry and cell design (for reuse, self-repair and recycling), but also to the manufacturing of cells for mobile and stationary applications. Issues of circular economy, safety and standardisation are taken into account in this framework. Similarly, the Commission wants to foster the emergence of a European clean hydrogen and fuel cell value chain. Orientation 4.3 focuses on the development of infrastructure, services and systems for smart and sustainable cities.  The aim is to develop the next generation of software solutions and digital infrastructures for both the mobility and energy sectors, based on ICT (AI, IoT, etc.). Orientation 4.5 specifically addresses the decarbonisation of transport modes, especially road transport. The "Towards zero-emission road transport" partnership should indeed take over from the European Green Vehicle Initiative (EGVI). This partnership wishes to move from a vehicle approach to a system approach. It will tackle all layers of research and innovation activities: technologies, processes, operations, innovative business models. To achieve this, the partnership will take into account :

all vehicles (two-wheelers, cars, vans, buses, trucks...)
integration in all areas: urban, peripheral, rural, etc.
will focus on deploying the solutions on the market

Finally, Orientation 4.6 of Cluster 5 "Climate, Energy and Mobility" is dedicated to intelligent and inclusive mobility, and in particular to the autonomous and connected vehicle.  The "Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility" (CCAM) partnership indeed aims to increase the safety and security of transport systems. By 2030, the aim is to validate solid safety standards for autonomous car traffic and to strengthen user confidence in these systems.