Evaluating the development of transport technologies in European research and innovation projects between 2007 and 2020

Numerous transport innovations promise to improve how people and goods move, while simultaneously decreasing the externalities that transport imposes on society. Public institutions offer large amounts of funding to make these concepts become reality. Yet fragmented and partial insights into technology development impede the efficient allocation of funds and may slow down innovation. This study contributes to a holistic and coordinated understanding of transport research and innovation by evaluating 3381 European Union-funded projects between 2007 and 2020. A technology taxonomy is built through a Grounded Theory approach, comprising 867 technologies that fall under 45 technology themes. Information is provided on funding characteristics and the technology development phase for each technology. The paper expands our understanding on the role of funding to innovate transport and offers suggestions to further improve research funding allocation.