At ITRL we believe in an integrated approach – we even have it in our name! To achieve our mission of building and conveying knowledge that contributes to the transition towards sustainable road transport, we integrate disciplines, system levels and stakeholders in our research.
Transport systems must change fundamentally to meet climate goals, strengthen resilience and remain accessible in a rapidly digitalizing society. Yet research, policy and innovation are often fragmented — separated across technologies, sectors and disciplines. ITRL exists to bridge these gaps. By integrating engineering, digitalization, economics, design, and policy, we develop system-level knowledge and solutions that enable coordinated and scalable transformation of transport and logistics systems.
Grand Challenges Towards Integrated and Sustainable Road Transport
As ITRL moves into its next phase (2025–2028), our research and initiatives will focus on addressing four interdependent grand challenges that define the future of sustainable mobility.
Transitioning Towards Integrated and Sustainable Road Transport
Road transport must undergo a coordinated transformation to become climate-neutral, digitally integrated and socially aligned. Today, technological advances in electrification, automation and connectivity often develop in parallel rather than together. The challenge lies in aligning vehicles, energy systems, digital infrastructure, mobility services, markets and governance so that change at one level supports progress across the whole system.
Decarbonizing and reducing environmental impacts
Transport must drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions while minimizing broader environmental and resource impacts. This includes large-scale electrification, integration of renewable energy, circular resource use and data-driven optimization of energy and material flows across transport and logistics systems.
Enhancing accessibility, mobility, and safety
Sustainable mobility must be accessible, inclusive and safe. This involves viable public transport, active mobility, shared and automated services, and transport systems designed to serve diverse user groups and evolving mobility practices while improving traffic safety outcomes.
Strengthening efficiency and resilience
Transport and logistics systems must operate efficiently while remaining robust to disruptions, changing demand and energy constraints. This includes freight optimization, traffic management, infrastructure planning and predictive coordination supported by advanced modelling and real-time data.
Our Approach: Three Dimensions of Integration
Addressing these grand challenges requires integration across multiple dimensions of the transport system.
We connect research from components and vehicles to services, operations and societal impact. Technical innovations are evaluated in operational contexts, operational solutions are assessed at system scale, and system effects are analyzed in relation to markets, regulation and sustainability goals.
We integrate vehicles and automation, energy systems, digital infrastructure and AI-enabled decision systems, logistics and mobility services, physical infrastructure, and business models. Sustainable transformation depends on their coordinated development rather than isolated optimization.
ITRL combines engineering, AI and data science, design research, economics and policy in close collaboration with industry, public authorities and civil society. Through collaborative and participatory methods, solutions are co-developed, evaluated and refined in real-world contexts.
From Demonstration to System Impact
Our work moves iteratively between demonstrations and test environments, modelling and simulation, and system-level evaluation in operational and policy contexts. This enables technological validation while generating knowledge about long-term system effects, supporting scalable and implementable sustainability transitions.
