AUTOSUP is a Research and Innovation Action project funded under the Horizon Europe programme, aiming to develop multimodal automatic freight transport concepts and solutions to enhance the operation of hubs as nodes in a Physical Internet logistics network. AUTOSUP will closely work in two intermodal nodes (L-Hubs): the port of Trieste and the port of Antwerp – Bruges. This project, which commenced on 1 June 2024 and spans 36 months, brings together a multidisciplinary team of 16 partners. These partners include four key organisations actively engaging their ecosystems of Transport and Logistics stakeholders.
AUTOSUP focuses on several strategic objectives:
Defining automation requirements: The project aims to establish the necessary automation requirements (needs, opportunities) to achieve seamless multimodal automatic freight transport, ensuring interoperability and efficiency across various transport modes.
Empowering stakeholders with a Decision Support System: An open, data-driven Decision Support System (DSS) will aid T&L stakeholders in defining automated processes. This system will facilitate strategic decision-making, allowing for feasibility studies via simulation to assess new solutions’ efficiencies and impacts, considering sustainability, financial, and social dimensions.
Supporting transition paths to automation: Two Living Hubs – Antwerp-Bruges and Trieste ports – serve as focal points for demonstrating the link between major transport nodes and road corridors, rail, inland waterways, and airports. These hubs will cover six diverse use cases, providing real-world insights into automation transition.
Designing new models for autonomous logistics: The project team will develop innovative operational, governance, and organisational change management models to incentivise cross-mode collaboration and reduce investment costs, fostering a cohesive and efficient autonomous logistics network.
Validating solutions: Through feasibility analyses, impact assessments, and stakeholder engagement, the consortium partners will validate the operational and cost efficiencies of the proposed solutions, ensuring practical applicability and scalability.
Establishing a strategic alliance: AUTOSUP will form a strategic alliance and thematic working group to align multimodal automation adoption roadmaps across rail, road, aviation, waterborne, and alternative transport modes. The project aims to lower automation adoption barriers through comprehensive transition guidelines, capacity-building sessions, and policy recommendations