Funding programme

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation.

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Call overview

This call aims to explore, analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of mobility management schemes in achieving a decarbonised and energy-efficient urban mobility system.

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Scope

The shift towards a decarbonised transport system is considered as challenging compared to other sectors of the economy. Achieving urban mobility decarbonisation can involve a variety of policy and technology measures and solutions. However, technological innovations alone are not sufficient for achieving a decarbonised urban transport system. They should be complemented by measures tapping into changes that target travel patterns and generate a shift in the daily mobility behaviour.

Urban mobility management plans are developed by organisations in the public domain (by local and regional authorities) and the private domain (companies, organisations, and institutions) to promote sustainable urban transport as laid out in the Urban Mobility Framework 384 to reach climate neutrality, reduce congestion, air pollutant emissions, noise and other harmful effects of overreliance on fossil fuels-based transport.

In the context of consultations for the preparation of the new Urban Mobility Framework, the support for mobility management plans has been voiced, with a majority of the respondents being in favour of adopting those plans by “travel destination” such as organisers of big events, companies with more than 200 employees, universities, shopping centres/retail areas, primary and secondary schools as well as hospitals.

Projects should:

• Take stock of existing studies, analyse in a structured way and provide an overview of mobility managements schemes in the European urban area in both the public and the private domain, which seek to increase the use of sustainable transport modes infrastructure;

• Identify, analyse and assess leverages as well as barriers in the uptake of mobility management schemes for the most important target groups;

• Co-design with and engaging the organisations proposing the mobility schemes, identify and assess potential behaviour-related solutions to those barriers that ensure a successful uptake of mobility management systems. Those solutions should differentiate between specific target groups, in particular students, employees, customers and patients of relevant categories of organisations: schools, universities, hospitals and other health facilities, tourism and leisure sectors, shopping malls, private companies, living in European urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Identify user groups that are more motivated to change their behaviours and prepared to act as frontrunners, thus leading to a more rapid adoption;

• Propose recommendations that support and incentivise the uptake of sustainable mobility choices by organisations and users;

• Propose recommendations to support the uptake of smart and bidirectional recharging for electric vehicles and related demand side management schemes in cities to enable electric vehicles (EV) participation in electricity markets as active customers that can feed the electricity stored in EV batteries back to the power grid during the peak hours to help balance the growing the electricity demand (thus avoiding need for investments into grids);

• Establish incentives to promote renewable based e-mobility schemes notably smart and bidirectional charging in cities to reduce reliance on fossil fuels including via support and awareness raising schemes;

• Encourage new mobility behaviour by means of marketing, information and awareness raising campaigns.

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Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

• the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
• the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
• countries associated to Horizon Europe;
• select low- and middle-income countries.

See the full list in the General Annexes.‍

The following additional eligibility criteria apply: At least four cities should be part of the consortium as beneficiaries. The cities must each be situated in different EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon Europe, ensuring geographical balance.

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Consortium composition

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

• at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
• at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

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Budget

The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.