The IRIS project supports the Lighthouse cities of Utrecht (NL), Göteborg (SE) and Nice Côte d’Azur (FR) and their Follower cities Vaasa (FI), Alexandroupolis (GR), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (ES), and Focsani (RO) to address their urgent need to deliver energy and mobility services in their cities that are cheaper, better accessible, reliable, and that contribute to a better and more sustainable urban quality of life. By demonstrating smart solutions that integrate energy, mobility and ict, rooted in a City Innovation Platform, IRIS quantifies their value, and connects interests of many different stakeholders in innovative business models, allowing for upscale and replication of integrated solutions for sustainable cities across Europe and world-wide. To achieve this, IRIS works along five Transition Tracks based on common challenges, encompassing 16 integrated solutions that cities can mix and match according to their characteristics and district specific needs. Track 1, 2 and 3 enhance energy efficiency and utilize grid flexibility by balancing supply and demand dynamically and by 2nd life battery and V2G storage, to allow increase of renewable energy production and roll-out of e-cars and e-buses. Track 4 supports this by data sharing, a common architecture, use of standards, and governance practices accelerating innovation, standardisation and implementation of affordable smart applications. Track 5 integrates interdisciplinary citizen engagement and co-creation in Tracks 1 to 4, connecting the needs of end-users with those of other stakeholders, in further support of innovative business models. The expected impacts of IRIS are an open innovation ecosystem motivating citizens to act as prosumers; more effective urban planning and governance of integrated solutions; exploitation of validated innovative business models based on multi-stakeholder collaboration; more stable, secure and affordable energy and mobility services for citizens, with improved air quality.

Through SUMPs-Up, an experienced consortium of public and private organisations, including four major city networks and seven frontrunner cities, skilled in coordinating major European SUMP projects will accelerate the take-up of SUMPs, where this is currently low, ensuring that SUMP is the primary mobility planning concept in Europe. To achieve this, the project will combine comprehensive SUMP research, tailored capacity-building, strong mechanisms for technical support, as well as constant SUMP monitoring and evaluation. As a result, the project will accelerate the development of 100 SUMPs, reach out to 600 cities and will therefore engage about 80% of the EU-cities above 50,000 inhabitants. SUMPs-Up will review, strengthen and integrate existing SUMP resources, designing a support system to assist cities to develop high quality SUMPs. A SUMP Tool Inventory will help mobility planners make better informed decisions about which planning tools to apply in their local context. This will be enriched with experiences from the city partners who will be testing innovative solutions in SUMP preparation and implementation. The SUMPs Up Innovation Pilot Pool will create a mechanism that allows identifying and validating the most effective concepts, approaches and methodologies in SUMP practice for different framework conditions and different types of cities, complemented by a peer learning programme, to leverage resources and enable more cities to apply the SUMP concept. At Member State level, SUMPs-Up will foster exchange to improve national SUMP frameworks. Close monitoring and evaluation of the project and supported activities will show evidence of the SUMP concept’s value and serve as a quality control mechanism for both project activities and the SUMPs being developed. SUMPs-Up will broadly communicate the positive impacts of SUMPs, producing and disseminating insightful reports and research. Ultimately, SUMPs-Up will stimulate a European movement of mobility planning authorities experienced in preparing and implementing SUMPs in compliance with the European requirements.

The eBRT2030 project will create a New Generation of advanced full electric, urban and peri-urban European Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) enhanced with novel automation and connectivity functionalities, to support sustainable urban transport by reducing cost/km/passenger, TCO, GHG and pollutant emissions and traffic congestion. The eBRT2030 project is developed through three main lines: 1) The development of technology-focused key innovative solutions for BRT, both at system and subsystem level, at level of vehicle, infrastructure, operation, and IoT connectivity 2) 7 demos of BRT system innovative solutions in real-operation, both city-&operator-led and BRT system-focused, or focused on specific technology innovation at subsystem level that are ready for BRT operations, in Europe and outside Europe (in Latin America and East-Africa), and fully integrated in the whole urban mobility scenario 3) the definition a new European concept of Bus Rapid Transit for year 2030, benefitting of evaluation, multiplication and replication of the real-operation test of innovations, that improve the performance of the whole European urban bus system. All cities in eBRT2030 have BRT lines already in operation or launched within 2023, and strongly committed to innovate with electrification, automation, connectivity technology tailored to the characteristics of European bus operations.