Bárbara Pinho is considering how EU-funded researchers can accelerate the deployment of self-driving trucks on public roads to address driver shortages and increase safety and sustainability in the European logistics sector.
In a not too distant future, a cargo vehicle with a rare appearance – with a large black windshield and no human driver behind the wheels – could become a common sight on European roads.
These are automated long-range tracks, the future major player in the European freight sector. EU-funded researchers are working hard to make their deployment as smooth as possible.
Self-driving cars are no longer novel. Small autonomous buses around the airport, autonomous metro lines or monorails, and even unmanned passenger cars have become more common in recent years.
However, most of the self-driving trucks are still in the testing stage. They are big and heavy and require rapid movement to deliver goods on public roads, so researchers are carefully measuring progress.
One of the things testing the new track is Dr. Ragnhild Wahl, Director of Research and Innovation in Norway. She coordinates an EU-funded research initiative named Modi that aims to improve the logistics sector in Europe through increased automation.
“The project is to provide a stepping stone to the full-scale deployment of the car fleet,” she explained. The main purpose is to create and test systems that can have autonomous trucks that transport goods around Europe.
Ensures a safe rollout
The ultimate goal of modernizing the freight sector is to reach so-called “Level 4” automation in which vehicles drive within predefined geographical areas without the need for humans.
These trucks can be operated continuously without breaks, extending operating times and improving logistics efficiency. Uses sensors, radars, cameras and advanced AI algorithms for decision-making and vehicle control.
There is also a command center with remote operators who oversee operations 24 hours a day. However, to have an automatic truck on the road, researchers need to make sure there is no surprise.
“We’re working to identify and lower the barriers to automation,” Wahl says. Her international research team develops so-called cooperatives, connections, and automated mobility (CCAM) solutions in real-world logistics operations.
The EU is a global leader in CCAM research and promotes it as the best way to modernize the transportation sector. Modi is one of the flagship initiatives.
In addition to greening and digitised transport, automation can also help tackle the growing shortage of truck drivers.
Recent figures show that the number of truck driver vacancy continues to rise across Europe. International Road Transport Union predicts that by 2028 Europe could run short of 745,000 truck drivers (17% of the required workforce).
“There will only be a serious shortage of drivers that will only get worse over the next few years,” said Pia Wijk, project manager at Einride, a Swedish freight technology company specializing in electrical and autonomous vehicles.
Wijk will also serve as a part of the Modi Research team, bringing together experts from 36 public and private organizations, including Volvo Technology AB and DAF Truck, and will be based in seven countries.
Environmentally friendly and more efficient delivery of products
At the heart of their efforts are self-driving trucks.
These refined, white futuristic look vehicles have darkened windshields at the front and packed with cameras and sensors.
Based on AI and precision sensors, EinRide’s autonomous technology analyzes over 5 million data points per second, allowing driverless vehicles to navigate complex routes, accurately detect objects, and predict braking distances.
Wijk said self-driving cars can help reduce road deaths. This is partly due to accident avoidance capabilities and reduced scope of human error.
A recent study published in nature, scientists who analyzed thousands of accident reports, including both autonomous vehicles and human drivers, suggested that in most situations, autonomous vehicles are in fact safer than humans.
“We believe that autonomous technology can make transportation safer than ever,” Wijk says.
In 2024, around 19,800 people died in road traffic accidents across the EU, according to European Commission data.
This represents a 3% decline from the previous year amid the EU’s continued efforts to improve road safety. The goal is to halve the number of road deaths by 2030 and achieve zero deaths by 2050. This is an ambition known as Vision Zero.
Test your automated trucks in complex, real-life environments
The MODI research team is currently exploring ways to integrate automated transport into the logistics sector, focusing on major European transport corridors. In doing so, they identify a variety of challenges they need to deal with.
It is important to ensure that important tasks associated with cargo journeys such as border intersections, documentation, fueling, loading and unloading can be effectively carried out in an automated transport environment.
By the time the project is finished in March 2026, the team will conduct a detailed impact assessment, compile the findings, develop a business model and inform both companies and policymakers.
Modi’s main focus is the 1,200-kilometer road corridor from Rotterdam, the Netherlands to Oslo, Norway. Researchers are evaluating the preparation of autonomous driving infrastructure.
The route spans four borders and Norway is not part of the EU, so it also includes navigating customs and toll clearances between the EU and non-EU territories.
Modi researchers are testing technology solutions through four specific use cases in port areas along the corridor, each representing a different stage in the logistics supply chain.
Rotterdam is studying how well self-driving cars work in busy port environments with mixed traffic. In Hamburg (Germany), the transition between highways and urban roads is one of the core elements.
Gothenburg (Sweden) focuses on hub-to-hub challenges such as automatic charging, loading and unloading. Automatic fares will be tested while crossing the border to Norway.
Moss (Norway) tests communications between vehicles and infrastructure while driving on public roads.
The unmanned future on the horizon
Einride already uses self-driving cars in European commercial operations and has since December 2024 moving cargo between warehouses of one of Sweden’s largest pharmacy electronic retailers. Their trucks use public routes with permits from Swedish transport.
In the short term, Wahl expects the easiest deployment to exceed short distances and to be controlled and limited environments such as terminals and ports.
But progress is slower when it comes to heavy, long distance tracks. “For long-haul freight transport, automatic trucks need to travel at high speeds over hundreds of kilometers, so deployments need to be carefully planned,” Wahl said.
Public roads are heavily regulated, more complex and essential to the community, making the introduction of self-driving cars a both technical and social challenge. Still, early signs are encouraging.
“When I first started working in automobiles in the 1990s, everyone was skeptical of them,” Waal said. “The social acceptance of self-driving minibuses is increasing, as is currently seen in the use of lobotaki and small units moving slowly in controlled environments like airports.”
Heavy trucks require more time and effort to support and navigate regulatory hurdles. Still, thanks to EU-backed initiatives like Modi, its unmanned future is closer than ever.
The research in this article was funded by the EU’s Horizon programme. The views of interviewees do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
Additional Information
This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.
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