Europe is on its way to generate and make use of more data than ever. The project PrepDSpace4Mobility aims at contributing to the development of the common European mobility data space by supporting the creation of a technical infrastructure that will facilitate easy, cross-border access to key data for both passengers and freight. Given the enormous potential of data and digital technologies, the project is expected to have a positive impact on European competitiveness, society, and the environment.
By 2025, the data economy in the EU27 is set to account for more than 820 billion Euro, almost tripling from 2018; digital skills and competencies will also be pushed to new highs with the number of data professionals expected to rise to 11 million and two thirds of Europeans having developed basic digital skills.
A consortium of 17 partners, has kicked off the Preparatory Action for the Data Space for Mobility (PrepDSpace4Mobility) project in October 2022. Led and coordinated by acatech (Germany), activities are carried out by Amadeus SAS (France), EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the European Union, (Spain), FIWARE (Germany), FhG (Germany), IDSA (Germany), iSHARE (Netherlands), TNO (Netherlands), USI (Germany), VTT (Finland), EMTA (France), Group ADP (France), KU Leuven (Belgium), ERTICO (Belgium), BAST (Germany), UIH (Hungary), and MDS (Germany).
The European Commission has dedicated one million Euro to the 12-month project, funded under the Digital Europe Programme: A sequence of preparatory activities is carried out to lay the basis for the creation of a common European Mobility Data Space.
PrepDSpace4Mobility contributes to the European Commission’s Strategy for Data, by mapping existing data ecosystems which engage with storing, processing, or sharing mobility and transport data, an extensive catalogue of European transport data ecosystems will be created. Building on these activities, common ground, and suitable governance frameworks for securely sharing data and managing data exchange across Europe will be identified.
Through close collaboration with the Data Spaces Support Centre, synergies with other data spaces will be strengthened, aligned with the European Data Spaces Technical Framework. In this process, a diverse mix of private and public stakeholders will be brought together to join forces to push the necessary digital transformation.
Lucie Kirstein, Project coordinator: “With this project, we aim to lay the foundation for a future operational data space at European level that lives up to the expectations and requirements of mobility and logistics sectors, helping to create a community of public and private stakeholders aiming to share data based on trust, security, and sovereignty. This initiative is the first step of a sectoral translation of the European data strategy and a true European single market for data.”
The European strategy for data embraces the ever-increasing importance of emerging technologies and innovative data approaches by investing four to six billion Euro in the development of common European data spaces in strategic sectors, such as environment, health, and transportation[1].
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_20_283
