TØI researchers have secured projects worth over 50 million NOK when the Research Council of Norway announced new projects in December. TØI was awarded a contract for research council projects under Pilot-T, collaborative projects, European joint projects, research projects and innovation projects in the public sector.
The green shift is a common denominator in terms of theme, and the projects range from electric car charging to the reuse of cultural monuments and landscapes, new delivery solutions and new mobility solutions in cities to regulation of micro-mobility and securing epidemic resilience in cities.
- The great success we have had in the Research Council's new portfolio model illustrate the fact that TØI's transport research is groundbreaking and necessary to respond to the great challenges of the future, says TØI director Gunnar Lindberg.
Research Council projects under Pilot-T
User-Centric Charging Services for Electric Vehicles is one of two Pilot-T projects TØI is involved in. The project will develop a user-friendly and independent charging network for electric car charging, a la hotels.com. The project is led by Powerzeek with ITS Norway, NAF, TØI and Bouvet as partners.
The second Pilot-T project is led by PostNord and deals with new delivery solutions based on parcel boxes and signature-free home delivery.
Collaborative projects
The collaborative project RUVIVAL (RUral VItalization through Various Adaptations of cultural heritage and Landscapes) will look at how rural areas can be revitalized through the reuse of cultural monuments and cultural landscapes. Project partners are the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), NMBU, the Norwegian Cultural Conservation Association, Norske Parker, the National Heritage Board, the Norwegian Tourist Association (DNT) and Innlandet County Municipality.
The collaborative project ZEVS (enabling Zero Emission passenger Vessel Services) will identify and close knowledge gaps for the establishment of speedboats with zero emissions.
European Joint Programs (JPI)
TØI is also participating in two projects that have received funding from European Joint Programs. MyFairShare will look at individual mobility budgets as a basis for fair and ethical carbon reduction. The project is being led by the Austrian Institute of Technology. The project Inclusive Transition towards Electric Mobility (ITEM) deals with new mobility solutions in the cities, and TØI is the project manager.
Research project
A-PLANET (Acceptable PoLicies for the optimAl balaNce between driving and activE Transport) will find a new knowledge base and fill knowledge gaps in transport, behavior, the environment and political economy. Collaborating partners are Carlos III University in Madrid and UiO.
The MOBI-HEALTH (Mobility, Health and Inclusive Urban Epidemic Resilience) project will produce interdisciplinary knowledge about interdependence, effects and inequalities of mobility, digitalization and health towards COVID19, to support inclusive urban epidemic resilience. Collaborators are NMBU, Karlstad University and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research.
Innovation project in the public sector
URBANITY (Innovative sensor networks and citizen empowerment for urban sustainable mobility and clean air) will facilitate participatory processes for environmental management based on the use of new technology and collaborative innovation. The applicant is Oslo Municipality.
AutoMaas (RuterAutonomous Mobility as a Service) will explore and design methods and measures to increase the acceptance of autonomous vehicles, with focus on the social situation that arises in so-called shared, "On-demand" fleets of driverless shared autonomous vehicles. Applicant is Ruter AS.
The third innovation project in the public sector deals with micro-mobility. MikroReg (Public regulation for efficient, safe and sustainable micro-mobility) will provide cities with knowledge to regulate the electric scooter market in a way that stimulates further innovation and societal benefits and at the same time safeguards important societal goals so the result is an enrichment for cities. The applicant is the Oslo Municipality Urban Environment Agency.
