STA RELEASES DISCUSSION PAPER ON R&D&I PRIORITIES FOR EUROPEAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURES AHEAD OF 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
As the 10th edition of the STA Annual Conference & Innovation Awards approaches, STA is pleased to announce the release of a new Discussion Paper 1/2025, under the title “Priorities & Recommendations for Research, Development & Innovation in European Transport Infrastructures”. The paper is authored by Mr César Bartolomé, Director for Innovation at the Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications (IECA), Chair of STA’s Technical Committee on Smart Sustainability, with contributions from several additional STA experts.
The paper highlights the significant challenges nowadays as the European transport system is moving towards a more sustainable, resilient and competitive model.
Mr César Bartolomé at the STA Annual Conference & Innovation Awards within the European Transport Conference 2025!
In July 2025, the European Commission announced its research programme priorities for 2027 and beyond, with a focus on connected and automated mobility, cross-border digital integration, and the adoption of renewable fuels across road, rail, maritime, and aviation sectors. This time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was also recognised as a transversal enabler, supporting decarbonisation, infrastructure resilience, governance, and digitalisation.
Despite Europe taking significant steps towards more sustainable transport, the sector remains one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for a quarter of the EU’s total. Digital technologies, including smart traffic management systems, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and synthetic fuels, show potential alternatives; however, technical barriers, high costs, and gaps in infrastructure and behavioural adaptation are slowing the progress.
Horizon Europe, the EU’s main Research and Innovation Programme, along with programmes such as LIFE (for environment and climate action), the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (for researcher mobility and training), and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF, for infrastructure deployment), focus on the topics of decarbonisation, digitalisation, and industrial competitiveness. Although, as Mr Bartolome notes in the paper, industry experts have warned that insufficient progress in physical infrasrructure, governance, and citizen engagement could hinder effective implementation of these priorities.
Finally, STA calls for action for greater investments in transport infrastructure modernisation in order to achieve seamless interaction with autonomous, connected, and digitally managed vehicles. The STA report proposes four pillars to be integrated to ensure Europe’s transport sector becomes not only greener and safer, but also resilient, equitable, and globally competitive.
The Discussion Paper will be presented by Mr César Bartolomé at the 2025 STA Annual Conference & Innovation Awards taking place in Antwerp, Belgium on Wednesday 17 September 2025, from 11:00 to 13:30 CET, within the European Transport Conference 2025!
Find the full paper available below & do not forget to register for the 2025 STA Annual Conference & Innovation Awards!