Research and Innovation Supporting the European Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy: A Technology Perspective from Recent European Union Projects

Abstract

Many concepts and innovations aim to improve transport and mobility, while helping to decrease the externalities that transport imposes on society. Research and innovation monitoring tools are important to assess the current state of development so that research funding and policy making efforts can be aligned optimally. This paper presents a comprehensive approach which links technological developments in the transport sector in Europe to the objectives of the most recent policy developments, in particular, the 2020 European Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. It does so by identifying and evaluating technologies from European Union-funded projects between 2007 and 2020, by means of a technology taxonomy. Information is provided at an aggregated level on funding characteristics of both projects and the technologies, while at the same time, the level of maturity of researched technologies in the most recent projects is identified. This study can aid policy makers to support the future development of transport technologies as part of pertinent policy strategies and identify research gaps.