Mastering mobility: transport planning for extreme heat
According to the World Meteorological Organisation at least 95% of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2025. As such, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently published the second edition of their Heat-Health Action Plan Guidance for cities, urging action and explaining that “extreme heat is an urgent and growing public health threat, driven by climate change and exacerbated by urbanization and population ageing.” While the […]
Startup funding stages explained: from pre-seed to Series A (and how EIT Urban Mobility invests at each)
Every startup needs capital to grow, but raising money is rarely a single event. It is a journey that unfolds in stages, each with its own logic, expectations, and type of investor. Understanding the startup funding stages is one of the most important things a founder can do before approaching any investor. This guide breaks […]
Mastering mobility: perceptions of safety in active mobility
While electrification is central to net-zero emissions strategies, reducing emissions at scale also requires a significant shift toward active mobility – walking, cycling and other forms of micromobility. These modes are among the most sustainable and space-efficient forms of urban transport available, as well as advantageous for personal health. Yet despite growing investment in cycling lanes, shared scooters and pedestrian infrastructure, uptake will always be hindered […]
Mastering mobility: EV charging and private parking operators
As net-zero emissions targets get ever closer, the electrification of transport will be a key component in the transition. Passenger cars are responsible for roughly 16% of the EU’s total carbon dioxide emissions, and while electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly available and affordable, adoption still hinges on access to reliable and convenient charging infrastructure. For many drivers, range anxiety, or the fear that an EV’s battery will […]
Five ways cities are making urban life healthier
How people move, and the spaces the move through, are key drivers of publichealth. This impact is why cities like Zurich, Brussels, Bradford and Cascais areimplementing mobility changes to encourage better public health outcomes. Fromreducing harmful noise pollution to designing public spaces that inspire movementand connection, European cities are leading the way in creating healthier, […]
Mastering mobility: transit planning during global events
In preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games the city expanded its cycling infrastructure by 60 kilometres, created 10,000 bicycle parking spaces, and added 3,000 Vélib’ shared bikes. Additionally, it planned to complete an additional 68 metro stations by 2030, from an investment of €36.1 billion. These initiatives aimed to ease the strain on the existing transit system while seamlessly and sustainably moving millions of visitors around the city. These efforts show both the enormous task, but also […]
How can Danish municipalities better work with mobility innovation?
On 12 March 2026, mobility professionals gathered in Copenhagen for the Mobilitetsnetværksmøde, a recurrent mobility network meeting organised by Marianne Weinreich for Danish municipalities, regions and public transport authorities (PTAs). During the event, EIT Urban Mobility hosted a workshop on how Danish public authorities can better access innovative mobility solutions, when budgets and internal resources […]
How Estonia built a blueprint for mobility innovation procurement
Procuring innovation in mobility and transport remains a significant challenge for many cities and regions in Europe. In 2025, a series of workshops in Estonia brought together public and private stakeholders to explore this issue as part of a new initiative by EIT Urban Mobility, Estonian Business School and Estonian Cleantech Association. The initiative arose from a clear and shared need: Estonian cities and municipalities require stronger and more confident approaches to mobility innovation procurement. Three in-person […]
Mastering mobility with women-led innovation
Cities and transport systems are not neutral. Throughout Western history they have largely been planned and built by men around male-dominated travel patterns. This legacy is visible in everything from street lighting to public transport schedules, and it has often meant that women’s needs – for safety, care-related trips and flexible mobility – have largely been under‑served. Initiatives on gender‑mainstreaming in mobility reveal structural biases and design choices that systematically […]
Predicting risk to save lives: new approaches to urban road safety
Urban streets are becoming increasingly complex and are having significant impacts on road safety. Growing population density, a rise in cycling and micromobility, and continued reliance on private vehicles are intensifying competition for limited road space. This complexity has disproportionately affected vulnerable road users (VRUs). VRUs, including pedestrians, cyclists and micromobility users, represent 70% of […]
Meet the first winners of the Strategic Innovation Open Call
The first 8 winning projects of the Strategic Innovation Open Call are officially kicking off! CARGOBIKE-SCALE, DAVER, HYBUHTRAIN, MUDAV, PantoTech, PGfor_Resilient_Cities, TRACE and TWINOPT cover five sectors being urban logistics, public transport, mobility data management, mobility and health, and electrification of transport and alternative fuels. The projects will see collaboration from 41 partners from across 16 […]
Europe debuts new fully autonomous bus line in public service
In a first-of-its-kind project led by Espaces-Mobilités and funded by EIT Urban Mobility, two self-driving shuttles from WeRide opened for public service in Leuven, Belgium. Since January 2026, Leuven residents can take the AV autonomous bus line 16 from the city’s railway station to the neighbouring municipality of Heverlee, a 4 km route that sees plenty of commuters and students. The […]
RIS Education Open Call 2026: 16 projects selected across Europe
We are proud to announce that 16 new RIS Education projects have been selected following the RIS Education call launched in June 2025. The call attracted strong interest, with 62 proposals submitted by organisations from over 20 countries. This response further strengthens the programme’s geographical and thematic reach across the RIS region. The newly supported […]
Advancing regional innovation ecosystems: Lessons from Øresund Mission Cities
How can cities better work together across borders to accelerate innovation and create better, cleaner mobility systems? In 2025, cities in the Øresund region explored this question through an Interreg Øresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak co-funded pre-study of the Øresund Mission Cities Mobility Innovation Programme (ØMMIP). The four participating cities – Copenhagen (Denmark), Malmö, Helsingborg and Lund (Sweden) – […]
Mastering mobility after dark
Across Europe, millions of people travel after dark: commuting from late shifts, cycling home, walking through neighbourhoods or using scooters to bridge their last mile. In winter, when darkness falls early but daily life continues, people still need to get to and from work, education and essential services, often in conditions that make navigating streets and public space more […]
Mastering mobility with decarbonised last-mile logistics
While the end-of-year holiday season offers a peak in global logistics, the beginning of the year sees a surge of delivery traffic with consumers returning gifts and placing new orders. Due to this increase in ecommerce returns, city streets become congested and local air quality worsens. According to a 2024 World Economic Forum report, last-mile logistics, the final leg of delivery from an urban […]
Strengthening Europe’s startup ecosystem: Mobility Startup Nexus 2025 recap
The second edition of the Mobility Startup Nexus demonstrated how collaboration and strategic support to startups are driving real progress in mobility. With over 100 registrations, the event, hosted by EIT Urban Mobility, gathered founders, investors, and corporates from across Europe to connect, share insights, and explore new opportunities. This edition highlighted how blended funding, […]
Mastering mobility with EU battery regulations
Batteries sit at the heart of Europe’s transition to decarbonised mobility. As the Clean Energy Technology Observatory notes, transport electrification prevented 658 million barrels of oil equivalent from being burned between 2010 and 2022, avoiding 280 million tonnes of CO2 globally. In the EU alone, batteries cut oil imports by 120 million barrels and prevented 51 million tonnes of emissions during […]
Mastering mobility at Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress 2025
For its fifth year, Barcelona became the meeting point for the world’s leading mobility innovators, researchers and policymakers as the Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress (TMWC) returned to Fira Barcelona from 4-6 November. Co-organised by Fira Barcelona and EIT Urban Mobility, the event ran alongside the Smart City Expo World Congress, welcoming over 27,000 attendees from more […]
Mastering mobility with car-free days
Car-free days are deliberately scheduled interruptions of private motor traffic, typically lasting for a full day. During these events, streets or entire districts are cleared of cars and reclaimed for walking, cycling, public transport and community life. The result is an immediate transformation: quieter streets, cleaner air and space for people to enjoy, rather than […]
Integrated, shared and autonomous: The future of public transport and shared mobility in cities
The EIT Urban Mobility North Summit 2025 took place in Stockholm on 16-17 September with over 110 representatives from the public transport and mobility sector in Northern Europe. Taking the stage to welcome everyone, EIT Urban Mobility CEO Marc Rozendal set the tone for the following two days: “Shifting to public transport delivers high impact […]
More than 250 students attend the EIT Urban Mobility Summer Schools across Europe
This summer, EIT Urban Mobility Summer Schools reached a new milestone: eight programmes delivered across Europe. They brought together bachelor’s and master’s students, as well as young professionals, to address some of today’s most pressing urban mobility challenges. Covering car dependency, smart cities, resilience, e-mobility, healthy ageing, and street redesign, the programmes combined challenge-based learning […]
Mastering mobility with urban greening
Around the world, cities have become hotspots for heat, with the urban heat island effect making urban temperatures 10-15°C higher than nearby rural areas during peak summer periods. In the summer of 2025, heatwaves impacted large parts of Europe as early as June, pushing cities beyond their abilities for mitigation. As an estimated 75% of […]
Startups boosting EV charging infrastructure network in Europe
The race to transition to more sustainable mobility is underway across Europe. The EU under the European Green Deal is targeting a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 [1]. A large part of this transition is the push to increase electric mobility. Yet the road to a well-balanced ecosystem of […]