Since October, Einride has been a member of the world-leading MODI project, a European cross-border effort co-funded by the European Union to enhance the transport and logistics industry by hastening the implementation of Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) solutions. Einride will be the principal autonomous partner in this European flagship project, which intends to demonstrate an autonomous electric truck crossing a country border, a global first.
MODI relates to the term “brave” in the Nordic languages, and it is the approach pervading the project, which will enable the safe roll-out of heavy-duty autonomous transportation in a wide variety of commercial applications. To do this and prepare for large-scale deployment, the project will address issues such as regulatory harmonisation across nations, public acceptability of autonomous vehicles, and how physical and digital infrastructure can support the introduction of autonomous vehicles. The project’s goal is to connect major ports and create a freight corridor connecting Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Oslo, Norway.
The project’s ultimate goal is to demonstrate SAE level 4 automated driving characteristics, where vehicles are capable of driving fully autonomously in specific operating conditions and do not require a safety driver on board.
Einride’s autonomous electric vehicle will show operations on the Nordic Link, a section of the E6 highway connecting Sweden and Norway, as part of the MODI project. This will be the first time a cabled autonomous vehicle crosses national boundaries, and it will be a significant step toward cross-border autonomous operations. The E6 highway is the main freight route connecting Sweden and Norway. Road transports about 97% of all freight between Gothenburg and Oslo, with more than 70% of vehicles returning empty. While freight volumes are predicted to increase over the coming decade, the E6’s physical infrastructure has limited capacity to accommodate increasing flows. In order to support growth effectively, important freight routes need to be more efficient than they are today.
“The MODI project is a great opportunity for Einride to demonstrate different use cases with current and potential customers as well as to work together with relevant partners that can evaluate and validate our solution. These use cases will be valuable for us when evolving our technology further,” says Andreas Allström, Director of Public Funding & Research Collaboration at Einride.
