Transport research moving fast
Established in 2004, the Era-net Transport (ENT) network of national and regional transport research programmes in Europe represents a powerful service platform for EU-funded transport programme owners and managers. It provides an arena for European research, innovation, policymaking and cooperation that advances European transport priorities such as electromobility, intermodality and environmental sustainability. Building on previous initiatives under ENT, the EU-funded ENTIII (Era net Transport III) project is launching two annual flagship EU-funded initiatives related to the EU's Horizon 2020 programme. It is supporting four transnational research and innovation funding initiatives, enhancing transnational cooperation, and promoting national research and innovation funding activities, including results and achievements. Already, the project team successfully established 11 transnational cooperation groups on surface transport, funding joint research and innovation projects worth approximately EUR 50 million. It launched one flagship call in 2013 with a budget of EUR 10 million titled 'Future Travelling', which led to 8 proposals selected for funding. More recently, the project launched the second flagship call in April 2015 on 'Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chains', which will remain open until October 2 of the same year. These achievements are expected to strengthen the European Research Area (ERA) through better coordination of national and regional research programmes, as well as development of policies for research and innovation. ENTIII will result in stronger cooperation among key players in transport and mobilise researchers, while vigorous dissemination of project results will support emerging research. This is yet another important step in advancing a common transport vision for Europe, one that brings with it a more sustainable future and a better standard of living for Europeans.
Keywords
Transport, transport research, electromobility, intermodality, research and innovation