AUTOSUP is a Research and Innovation Action project funded under the Horizon Europe programme, aiming to develop multimodal automatic freight transport concepts and solutions to enhance the operation of hubs as nodes in a Physical Internet logistics network. AUTOSUP will closely work in two intermodal nodes (L-Hubs): Trieste and the port of Antwerp – Bruges. This project, which commenced on 1 June 2024 and spans 36 months, brings together a multidisciplinary team of 17 partners. These partners include four key organisations actively engaging their ecosystems of Transport and Logistics stakeholders.

ALICE is part of the AUTOSUP project to leverage its expertise in logistics innovation and collaboration. By supporting the development and implementation of automated multimodal freight transport, ALICE aims to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions in logistics. Its involvement ensures alignment with European Commission goals, facilitates stakeholder engagement, and promotes the adoption of the Physical Internet concept for efficient, sustainable logistics networks.

With this project, ALICE expects to:

• Create a robust knowledge base on transportation automation initiatives and roadmaps.
• Identify short term opportunities of automation for transportation companies, logistics service providers and goods owners.
• Identify gaps and barriers to adoption of automated transportation solutions in intermodal and logistics chains including requirements for redesigning logistics processes to lever value streams for automation.
• Support cross-fertilisation across projects, partnerships and initiatives.
• Transfer knowledge generated to our members and broader logistics ecosystem
• Based on assessment of the progress of AUTOSUP for innovation upscale, best practices, define a roadmap aiming to define standardization recommendations and a policy package.

On the 27th of September 2024, AUTOSUP successfully hosted their first stakeholder workshops, organised by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and VIL in the inspiring settings of the Antwerp Port House and LOGIVILLE! AUTOSUP project partners engaged in productive discussions on classifying automation technologies and exploring three specific use cases developed by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in collaboration with Procter & Gamble and VIL Flanders Innovation Cluster for Logistics. These use cases will be integrated into a user-friendly, data-driven Decision Support System (DSS), enabling transport and logistics stakeholders to assess the feasibility of and implement innovations, backed by advanced operational and governance models.

The workshops brought together experts, partners, and external stakeholders, including FOR-FREIGHT, to delve into the challenges and opportunities of implementing cutting-edge automation technologies aimed at boosting efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness in logistics.