On September 30, ECTRI attended the EARPA’s Autumn Meeting, taking place in Brussels, Belgium.
As speaker to the panel discussion on “Automotive Research & Technology Infrastructures”, Kay Gade, Rapporteur to the ECTRI Taskforce EU Policy highlighted the following 🔑 points:
➡ Building an ecosystem of connected RTIs is essential for EU’s competitiveness
➡ Mapping existing RTIs, investment needs and making them visible will enable the identification of capabilities, expose gaps and guide future investments
➡ Cross-border collaboration remains difficult due to differences in regulatory frameworks and funding models
➡ RTIs need sustainable operational funding, allowing the maintenance and upgrade of capabilities and technologies.
This contribution reflects two ECTRI positions presented to the European Commission in 2025, on:
At the EARPA Autumn Meeting, Horst Pfluegl, from AVL, also presented the CENTREe Project, aiming to transform Europe’s road transport research and innovation ecosystem.
ECTRI was pleased to meet partners at the EARPA Networking Reception on September 29, 2026.
ECTRI thanks EARPA and partners for an insightful conversation, and the ECTRI Taskforce on EU Policy for their contribution.
Photo credits : EARPA & ECTRI