€198 million awarded to Horizon 2020 Transport projects

INEA has just signed the last grant agreements under H2020 Transport with 42 projects selected for funding with topics relating to Green Vehicles, Automated Road Transport and Mobility for Growth (single-stage topics).

The successful projects will contribute to the H2020-MG-2020-SingleStage-INEA, H2020-LC-GV-2020, H2020-DT-ART-2020 calls. They will receive around 198 million EUR of EU i funds.

Examples of funded projects

AWARD - All Weather Autonomous Real logistics operations and Demonstrations

Photo credit: EasyMile and DFDS

AWARD aims at developing and operating safe autonomous transportation systems (ATS) in a wide range of real-life logistic use cases in a variety of different scenarios. This includes autonomous driving under adverse environmental conditions such as heavy rain, snowfall, fog. The ADS (Autonomous Driving System) solution will be based on multiple sensor modalities and an embedded teleoperation system to address 24/7 availability. The ADS will then be demonstrated by running a range of real-world hub-type missions each with one or more autonomous driving fitted vehicles. The knowledge gained from these operations is expected to add value for hub operator or fleets.

EU contribution: € 19,89 million

Total cost: € 26,39 million

Topic: DT-ART-06-2020

Duration: 36 months

Partners countries: AT, BE, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, IL, NL, NO, UK

SEABAT - Solutions for largE bAtteries for waterBorne transport

The main objective of SEABAT is to develop a full-electric maritime hybrid concept based on:

• 1. 

  combining modular high energy batteries and high-power batteries;
• 2. 

  novel converter concepts;
• 3. 

  production technology solutions derived from the automotive sector.

A modular approach will reduce component costs (battery, convertor) so that unique ship designs can profit from economies of scale by using standardised low-cost modular components. The concept is suitable for future battery generations and high-power components that may have higher power densities or are based on different chemistries. Expected results are: optimal full-electric hybrid modular solution, minimising the battery footprint and reducing the oversizing (from up to 10 times down to max. 2 times). Validating as a 300 kWh system (full battery system test) at TRL 5, and virtually validating the solution for batteries of 1 MWh and above, using 300 kWh system P-HiL tests.

The result will be a validated hybrid battery solution for capacities of 1 MWh and beyond, a roadmap for type approval and a strategy towards standardisation for (among others) ferries and short sea shipping. The solution will deliver a 35-50% lower total cost of ownership (TCO) of maritime battery systems, including 15-30% lower CAPEX investment, 50% lower costs of integration at the shipyard and a 5% investment cost recuperation after the useful life in the vessel.

The SEABAT consortium unites all the necessary expertise for developing the hybrid topology and implementing it in the industry. The market pick-up of the SEABAT solution is maximised by having 20 shipbuilders and integrators in the consortium; they are represented by the SOERMAR association. The stakeholder group, in which end users and port authorities are represented, supports the wide adoption of the SEABAT solution in the European maritime market, and the increase in European skills base in large battery technology and manufacturing processes.

EU contribution: € 9.588 million

Total cost: € 9.588 million

Topic: LC-BAT-11-2020 “Reducing the cost of large batteries for waterborne transport”

Duration: 48 months (01/01/2021 - 31/12/2024)

Partners: 15 partners from EU countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Germany), Norway and Turkey.

PHOENICE - PHev towards zerO EmissioNs & ultimate ICE efficiency

The project aims at developing a C SUV-class plug-in hybrid vehicle demonstrator whose fuel consumption and pollutant emissions will be jointly minimized for real world driving conditions. This development will require the optimization of a highly efficient gasoline engine, relying on a dual dilution combustion approach with excess air and EGR, synergizing an innovative in-cylinder charge motion with high pressure injection, novel ignition technologies, and an electrified turbocharger particularly relevant for hybrid architectures.

The vehicle overall efficiency will be increased with an exhaust waste heat recovery system for generating an additional electric power contribution. To achieve the targeted near-zero emissions in transient conditions specific to PHEV, the demonstrator vehicle will be equipped with a complete and dedicated after-treatment system including an electrically heated catalyst, a SCR and a GPF for abating NOx, particle number down to 10 nm, and non-regulated gaseous emissions.

The PHOENICE demonstrator vehicle will finally be independently tested over RDE-compliant cycle(s) on a chassis dynamometer. The test will demonstrate the project impacts in terms of CO2 reduction and air quality improvement. These final results will also demonstrate the potential impacts and applications of the selected technologies for the future light-duty PHEV market.

This project will support the European automobile industry in the medium term and speed up the transition towards a more environmentally friendly mobility in terms of air quality and GHG emissions.

EU contribution: € 4,997 million

Total cost: € 5,939 million

Topic: LC-GV-07-2020

Duration: 42

Partners: 9 partners from Italy (4), France (3), UK (1), Germany (1)

MOREandLESS - MDO and REgulations for Low-boom and Environmentally Sustainable Supersonic aviation

The main objective of MOREandLESS is to help Europe, together with the international community, shape high environmental standards for future sustainable supersonic aviation. Through a holistic analysis, the scientific findings in the fields of aerodynamics, jet-noise, sonic-boom, propulsion, emissions and environmental impact will be transposed into guidelines for the regulatory community.

This project of 13 partners (and 2 additional international partners) and 9 countries will deploy modelling activities and test campaigns, to improve the understanding of sonic boom, jet noise and pollutant emissions. Based on these findings, appropriate software tools will be developed and integrated into a multidisciplinary framework, capable of holistically assessing the environmental impact of supersonic aircraft at local, regional and global levels. The proposed framework will be applied to a wide range of supersonic speeds, aircraft configurations, propulsive technologies and alternative fuels (such as bio-fuels and liquid hydrogen), to verify that the enabling technologies, trajectories and operations of supersonic aircraft comply with environmental requirements.

This framework will also support European (EASA and the European Commission) and international (ICAO-CAEP) organizations, towards new environmental standards for future supersonic transportation. The project additionally fosters international cooperation with two US partners (namely Boom Supersonic and Boeing) and an external advisory board consisting of European and US civil aviation authorities and regulators (i.e. EASA, ENAC, EUROCONTROL and FAA), thus paving the way towards the definition of global and internationally agreed regulations.

EU contribution: € 4,999,996.25

Total cost: € 6,336,211.25

Topic: LC-MG-1-15-2020 - Towards global environmental regulation of supersonic aviation

Duration: 48 months

Partners: Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Sweden, Netherlands, USA (2 international partners)