PIONEERS brings together four ports with different characteristics, but shared commitments towards meeting the Green Deal goals and Blue Growth socio-economic aims, in order to address the challenge for European ports of reducing GHG emissions while remaining competitive. In order to achieve these ambitions, the Ports of Antwerp-Bruges, Barcelona, Venlo and Constanta will implement green port innovation demonstrations across four main pillars: clean energy production and supply, sustainable port design, modal shift and flows optimization, and digital transformation. Actions include: renewable energy generation and deployment of electric, hydrogen and methanol vehicles; building and heating networks retrofit for energy efficiency and implementation of circular economy approaches in infrastructure works; together with deployment of digital platforms (utilising AI and 5G technologies) to promote modal shift of passengers and freight, ensure optimised vehicle, vessel and container movements and allocations, and facilitate vehicle automation. These demonstrations form integrated packages aligned with other linked activities of the ports and their neighbouring city communities. Forming an Open Innovation Network for exchange, the ports, technology and support partners will progress through project phases of innovation demonstration, scale-up and co-transferability. Rigorous innovation and transfer processes will address technology evaluation and business case development for exploitation, as well as creating the institutional, regulatory and financial frameworks for green ports to flourish from technical innovation pilots to widespread solutions. These processes will inform and be undertaken in parallel with masterplan development and refinement, providing a Master Plan and roadmap for energy transition at the PIONEERS ports, and handbook to guide green port planning and implementation for different typologies of ports across Europe.

IN2CCAM consortium, according to the vision of Horizon Europe framework programme from 2021-2027 that aims to accelerate the implementation of innovative CCAM technologies and systems for passengers and goods, intends develop, implement and demonstrate innovative services for connected and automated vehicles, infrastructures and users. The goal is providing benefits to all citizens by implementing a full integration of CCAM services in the transport system. The main expected positive impacts for society are: i) safety (i.e., reducing the number of road accidents caused by human error; ii) environment (i.e., reducing transport emissions and congestion by smoothening traffic flow and avoiding unnecessary trips); iii) inclusiveness (i.e., ensuring inclusive mobility and good access for all). To this aim the approach is based on the implementation and integration of enhanced Physical, Digital and Operational Infrastructures to enrich CCAM services and increase safety and traffic efficiency. A set of physical, digital and operational solutions will be proposed and implemented in 4 Lead Living Labs (LLs): Tampere (Finland), Trikala (Greece), Turin (Italy) and Vigo (Spain). Moreover, two Follower LLs will collaborate in the design phase by providing ideas and data assessed by simulation test and validation: Bari (Italy) and Quadrilatero (Portugal).

DISCO will develop and demonstrate - in real-life conditions - a federated European urban freight (UF) data space as one stop shop of data sharing on digital urban logistics solutions and smart tools for ambitious decision making. It will be a continental Ten-T – oriented and distributed real-life ecosystem to prove its value via demonstrated and replicable Use Cases (UCs), build upon innovation drivers to code concrete transformation of urban planning and land use by an open and collaborative UF Data Space with a smart governance model. The DISCO UF Data Space is voluntary based (incentivized), co-created and open framework to achieve a radical transformation and alliance in purpose-oriented data sharing, enabling smart access, fast and resource efficient acquisition, and focused provision, improving knowledge and capacity of city authorities and planners guaranteeing future data availability for dynamic (and predictive) integrated urban logistics planning, synchronizing real-time demand for transport & warehousing with logistics supply, (e.g., as Uber matches the demand for private car transport service with its road drivers’ fleet). DISCO will support European urban logistics players in reducing economic, societal and technical dependence from private digital platforms owned by large global providers, magnifying the scope of a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) converging to data-driven Sustainable Urban Logistics Planning (SULPs), expanding them beyond traditional urban boundaries (e.g., rural areas, towns and suburbs, cities, and urban areas according to World Urbanization Prospects ) and beyond Covid-19, to optimally manage, monitor and dynamically predict city freight flows, changing urban nodes accessibility by properly serving Functional Urban Area - FUA on a larger, mixed-use, and flexible scale , and deliver advanced and well-informed planning and purpose oriented, optimised land use within a TEN-T and global dimension.