Mobility LAB Vitoria-Gasteiz, together with the Vitoria-Gasteiz Campus of the Euskadi Technology Park, hosted the meeting of the POLIS Working Group on Smart Mobility and Traffic Systems on 3 and 4 June. POLIS is the network of European cities and regions working together on innovative transport solutions. A European representation travelled to Miñano to learn about Basque developments in Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM).

Vitoria-Gasteiz is a member of this key network in the field of CCAM, one of the sectors currently receiving significant attention across Europe. The city’s participation is coordinated through Mobility LAB and the Environmental Studies Centre (CEA). Within this ecosystem, the city has positioned itself as a leading reference point: “Europe is at a strategic moment in defining how cooperative, connected and automated mobility will move from experimentation to real-world deployment. Meetings such as this are essential for connecting cities, regions and technological innovation, sharing lessons learned and ensuring that the solutions being developed address the real needs of future mobility,” said Laura Babío Somoza, Smart Mobility Cluster Lead at POLIS.

The event demonstrated that the Basque Country is at the forefront of CCAM development, giving it relevance not only at regional level but also across Europe: the delegation travelled to Álava to discover real-life CCAM experiences, an area of growing interest for European funding programmes.

Basque Country at the Forefront

Within Álava’s CCAM ecosystem, Mobility LAB has developed one of the region’s examples of connected, autonomous and clean vehicles. This was the first use case that enabled the organisation to obtain IDSA certification for its data space, MOVDATA, in 2024.

“That milestone, like this event, is another example of the strength of the ecosystem and the importance of connecting with European networks. At Mobility LAB, organisations are already sharing data through MOVDATA and using testing environments such as the car park where we are gathered today. This makes it possible to turn innovative ideas into concrete projects involving universities and vocational training centres that help generate the talent needed for the mobility of the future,” said Iñigo Bilbao Ubillos, Director of Mobility LAB.

Attendees were also able to discover the physical platform of an autonomous vehicle that Mobility LAB has provided to CIFP Mendizabala, where it is being developed in collaboration with Mondragon Unibertsitatea. The project, called Autonomous Campus, allows students to work with real-time vehicle telemetry rather than simulations. The project is expected to be completed within a year and will be piloted in the connected, autonomous and clean vehicle testing environment. “It represents a decisive step towards the deployment of vehicles capable of operating without a driver in controlled environments. One of the main anticipated uses of this technology will be the autonomous transport of materials and goods between companies and buildings,” explained Unai Ochoa de Aspuru Uribe, Director of CIFP Mendizabala.

Participants also had the opportunity to learn about one of the sensor-equipped vehicles currently being used by BasqueCCAM in urban, interurban and rural pilot projects. “The Basque Country already has unique deployed environments for testing and validating connected, cooperative and automated mobility technologies under real-world conditions. BasqueCCAM’s objective is to transform the knowledge and evidence obtained from these pilots into solutions that improve mobility, road safety and industrial competitiveness, contributing to the Basque Country’s European leadership in CCAM. Sharing these advances with European cities and regions is essential for building a common roadmap that accelerates the safe and coordinated deployment of CCAM across Europe,” said Sara Ahetze Puignau Arrigain, Technical Director of BasqueCCAM.

Finally, attendees saw in operation the autonomous vehicle developed jointly by Masermic and Tecnalia: an operational autonomous buggy. “This vehicle demonstrates that automation and autonomous navigation technologies are already a reality in controlled environments, bringing the mobility of the future closer to real-world transport and service applications, and highlighting the value that arises when industry and technology centres collaborate to turn innovation into tangible solutions,” said Joana Gracia Acha, Director of the Mobility Division at Tecnalia, and Ion Iriondo Vila, Director of Business Development and Innovation at Masermic.

All demonstrations took place in Parking Area E6 at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Campus of the Euskadi Technology Park, one of the eight testing environments operated by Mobility LAB for evaluating innovative mobility and transport solutions. As such, this site serves as an urban laboratory and a pioneering facility in Europe within the field of cooperative, connected and automated mobility.

CCAM: A Key Area for European Mobility

CCAM is entering a decisive phase in Europe. Real-world deployments are currently being prepared through cross-border pilot projects and large-scale demonstration initiatives, while regulatory and technical frameworks continue to advance rapidly.

In this context, cities and regions will play a fundamental role in the transition, acting not only as implementers but also as regulators, infrastructure managers and integrators of CCAM into public transport systems and multimodal mobility and logistics services.

The event provided a unique opportunity to demonstrate that the Basque Country is at the forefront of both infrastructure and technological development. It also enabled participants to experience automated vehicles first-hand, attend demonstrations in real testing environments and visit specialised facilities.

In addition to the demonstrations, participants visited EUROCYBCAR, where they learned about CYBERCARLAB, the world’s first laboratory dedicated to measuring and certifying vehicle cybersecurity. They were also introduced to cybersecurity certification processes for connected vehicles and gained insight into how living labs are fostering the experimentation, validation and implementation of CCAM.

Two Days Dedicated to Building the Ecosystem

Today’s programme began with presentations on the autonomous vehicle developments that were later demonstrated in operation. Alongside BasqueCCAM, Tecnalia, Masermic and Mobility LAB’s use case, Kapsch TrafficCom, one of Mobility LAB’s board members, presented its latest CCAM advances in vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication.

Yesterday’s programme focused on the latest developments in CCAM and included a session featuring local speakers. Daniel Rico, Application Security Manager and Cybersecurity Analyst at Cybertix, addressed the challenges and roadmaps related to cybersecurity in the field of CCAM. Patxi Etxegaray, Area Sales Director and Business Development Manager for Electromobility at Irizar, presented advanced driver assistance systems and CCAM developments implemented in the company’s buses.

Ultimately, this milestone for Basque mobility has helped connect the local and European contexts, with the aim of promoting joint initiatives, encouraging participation in European projects and fostering the exchange of experiences.