Flagship-pilot: large-scale demonstrations of CCAM (CCAM Partnership)

What is this call about?

The topic funds one flagship project that brings together the most promising connected and automated mobility use cases in individual mobility, shared mobility and freight, tested at multiple sites for at least 12 months.

What does this call fund?

Scope

This flagship pilot is the culmination of the activities of the Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) Partnership since 2021. A single project combines the most promising use cases across three domains with advances from all the partnership's research clusters, to move CCAM systems and services towards market uptake. Benefits must be proven through large-scale demonstrations for both people and goods, with attention to trusted communication, cybersecurity, real-time information and an assessment of the technological maturity of automated driving in mixed traffic and confined areas. Zero-emission mobility is prioritised.

Domains to demonstrate

• Individual mobility in mixed traffic, in urban, suburban, motorway and rural settings, integrating automated and conventional vehicles and validating enabling technologies such as AI, V2X, cybersecurity and precise positioning.
• Shared mobility and public transport in urban, regional and rural areas, with realistic door-to-door services linked to mobility hubs, ridesharing and parking, and better business cases for providers.
• Freight transport between hubs, along corridors and at logistics hubs on public roads and in confined areas, including airports, ports, cross-border and transhipment terminals connected to TEN-T freight corridors.

Common activities

Proposals should coordinate with the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance and with related earlier and later projects, including a preparatory coordination action for large-scale CCAM demonstrations. They should engage a broad range of private and public stakeholders, including European vehicle manufacturers, Tier-1 suppliers, SMEs, operators, municipalities, motorway operators, emergency services and user groups. Other expected activities include assessing technologies such as photonics and generative AI for extending operational design domains, public engagement and training, checking regulatory compliance, gathering real-world evidence on impacts, showing the benefits of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure cooperation, using demonstration data to extract scenarios and edge cases, enabling interoperability across brands, regions and countries, and collaborating with the European Software-defined Vehicle initiative. Gender, age, social origin and income should be considered where relevant. New vehicles and vehicles in final public demonstrations are expected to be environmentally friendly, with a focus on electric vehicles. The topic requires social sciences and humanities expertise.

Expected outcomes

• Large-scale demonstrations of inclusive, user-oriented CCAM services in mixed traffic through field operational tests, technology pilots and living labs, moving from SAE Level 2 towards Levels 3 and 4, at multiple sites and corridors for at least 12 months.
• Validation of technologies that extend operational design domains and improve perception in poor light and bad weather.
• An assessment of deployment readiness, reliability, security and real-world applicability, and identification of remaining technological and societal needs.
• Recommendations for regulatory action to ease deployment of automated vehicles in Europe.
• Viable business models for each use case that allow continued operation through private or public funding and can be replicated in other cities and regions.

Projects implement the CCAM co-programmed partnership, are expected to report results to it, and are expected to apply the European Common Evaluation Methodology for CCAM. Activities are expected to reach technology readiness level 7-8 by the end of the project.

When is the deadline?

8 October 2026

8 October 2026. This is a single-stage call.