KEYSTONE at the RTR 2025: Strengthening Transport Innovation Through EU Partnerships
Participants at the Session Sustainable and Resilient Freight Transport and Long-Haul Logistics in Brussels, Belgium
From left to right: Paola Chiarini (DG MOVE), Isabelle Schnell (Volvo Group), Dr Beatriz Martinez Pastor (University College Dublin), Prof Mauro Dell’ Amico (UNIMORE), Dr Corinna Kopke (Fraunhofer EMI), John von Stamm (FIR at RWTH Aachen)
From 11 to 13 February 2025, the RTR Conference united, for the 8th time, researchers, academics, stakeholders and participants from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects to showcase results and expected outcomes in the field of road transport. The three-day event included various topics, such as green vehicles, urban mobility, logistics, intelligent transport systems, safety and automated road transport.
The conference was attended by more than 400 participants from across Europe, who took the opportunity to present their latest updates and results, discuss the challenges faced, and gain better insights into the lessons learned from various EU projects.
KEYSTONE could not miss the opportunity to participate in the event and took centre stage in the Session titled “Sustainable and Resilient Freight Transport and Long-Haul Logistics” on 12 February 2025, from 14:15 to 17:15 CET.
Prof Mauro Dell Amico presenting KEYSTONE project at the RTR 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.
KEYSTONE was represented by Professor Mauro Dell’Amico from the University of Modena and Regio Emilia (UNIMORE), its project coordinator. He highlighted the project’s recent progress, which recently passed its midway point. Prof Dell Amico began his presentation by outlining KEYSTONE’s objectives, main activities and the overarching goal - the creation of a digital ecosystem that facilitates data exchange between authorities and operators, aligning with the European Commission’s vision for a safer, smarter, greener, and more efficient future for the transport and logistics sector in Europe.
Additionally, he shared with the audience the current KEYSTONE activities, focusing on the refinement of the web app design and the preparation for two pilot test phases that will take place between June and November 2025. The pilot tests will evaluate KEYSTONE’s impact in two different scenarios:
1. Road transport scenario – in Northern Italy, from the Port of La Spezia, conducted by Gruber Logistics, a KEYSTONE project partner.
2. Intermodal transport scenario –concerning the transport path from Rotterdam to Novara, conducted by freight terminal operator CIM - Interporto di Novara, a KEYSTONE project partner.
What differentiates KEYSTONE is its web app solution, which is designed to serve both operators and authorities at the same time and encourage a collaborative approach rather than opposing the two perspectives. On one hand, it aims to smoothen the documentation process with automated alerts and facilitate multi-lingual communication by translating the required documentation. On the other hand, the KEYSTONE web-app aims to optimise the workload and traffic flow optimisation by focusing on safety and automation in compliance checks, particularly in critical areas such as border crossings.
The panel was moderated by Paola Chiarini from the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission and Isabelle Schnell from Volvo Group. It featured very interesting discussions from fellow EU-funded projects, including:
SETO, the sister project of KEYSTONE, represented by Dr Beatriz Martinez Pastor from University College Dublin;
SARIL, represented by Dr Corinna Kopke from Fraunhofer EMI;
ReMuNet, represented by John von Stamm from FIR at RWTH Aachen;
TRACE, represented by Stathes P. Hadjiefthymiades from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA).
Key takeaways from the session
All speakers throughout the session highlighted the importance of data exchange. However, it was stated that real-time data is not utilised. KEYSTONE and SETO recognised the need for better compliance with transport regulations and faster adoption of electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI Regulation).
Finally, all speakers agreed that collaboration across projects is the key towards digitisation and interoperability, two essential concepts that will define the future of transport and logistics in the near future.
We look forward to RTR 2026, which will also mark the final year of the KEYSTONE Project!
Author: Eftychia Koliou, Smart Transportation Alliance (STA)