Deployment of European Mobility Data Space launched at #TMWC23

The EU co-funded deployEMDS project was officially launched during the Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress in Barcelona on 7 November 2023. The initiative will cultivate a broad European ecosystem of data providers and users, facilitating the adoption of common building blocks. Over 20 use cases from nine EU countries will contribute to the development of innovative services and applications.

The deployEMDS initiative responds to the challenges outlined in the EU Digital Europe Programme and will help make the common European mobility data space a reality. Aligned with the European data strategy and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, it will support policymaking by enabling data sharing and reuse for efficient multimodal mobility and traffic management, as well as for measuring the progress of sustainable urban mobility across Europe.

‘The common European mobility data space (EMDS) aims to facilitate data access, pooling and sharing for more efficient, safe, sustainable and resilient transport. It builds on initiatives and applications related to transport data and will be supported by initiatives to boost interoperability, security, and the availability and provision of data and services.’

 

European Commission, ‘Transport data – creating a common European mobility data space’ (Communication)

To support the initiative, a communication by the European Commission is planned for this year: it will announce the objectives and the proposed way forward for the European Mobility Data Strategy (EMDS). Specifically, it will describe the main features, objectives, governance, milestones and supporting measures for the EMDS.

What does the project aim to achieve?

deployEMDS is a project that aims to support the European Union’s digital sovereignty, notably by reinforcing EU critical digital capacities involving the preparation of a data infrastructure, governance, and processing. Building upon the groundwork laid by the preparatory action PrepDSpace4Mobility, the deployEMDS project's primary objective is to deploy an operational data space and common governance mechanisms.

This data space will facilitate decentralised, trusted and secure data sharing. The project will actively support real-life implementation projects in nine cities and regions, including Barcelona (ES), Île-de-France (FR), Milan (IT), Lisbon (PT), Flanders (VLO), Sofia (BG), Stockholm (SE), Tampere (FI), and Hamburg (DE). These initiatives will focus on developing innovative services and applications while assisting in policymaking through the sharing and reuse of data.

The launch event in Barcelona will officially kick off the collaborative work for the project consortium and set the course for the initial months of the project.

‘We are excited that we will now be able to demonstrate the data space concept in practice with so many important cities and regions across Europe. This will be an important basis for understanding the benefits of a currently very abstract concept and support local stakeholders in taking a step further in their thinking and urban data practices and governance.’

 

Lucie Kirstein, Project Coordinator, acatech

The project consortium comprises 38 members and 7 associated partners from 11 EU countries and is coordinated by acatech. The three-year project will run from 1 November 2023 until 31 October 2026.

About the coordinators

Funded by the German Federal Government and the Länder, acatech – the National Academy of Science and Engineering is the voice of the technological sciences in Germany and abroad. acatech offers a neutral platform for informed discussions on key technological topics. Experts from academia, industry, and civil society formulate evidence-based advice for public and policy debates.

 

ERTICO – ITS Europe is a public-private partnership of 120 companies and organisations representing Service Providers, Suppliers, Traffic and Transport Industry, Research, Public Authorities, Users, Mobile Networks Operators, Vehicle Manufactures. 

For more information, contact the deployEMDS Project Coordinator Lucie Kirstein at kirstein@acatech.de or the deployEMDS Communication Manager Gianmarco Donolato at g.donolato@mail.ertico.com.