We envision a future where society's need for accessible and affordable transportation is met by safe, clean, efficient, and sustainable systems. We have made our mission to drive the transition to integrated and sustainable road transport systems. Through multidisciplinary research and close collaboration with our partners, we build and share knowledge on leveraging new technologies to achieve this transformation.
In 2024, ITRL celebrated a decade of pioneering advancements in sustainable transport systems. This milestone marked a renewed commitment to shaping the future of mobility. ITRL was conceived out of a need for integrated, multidisciplinary research and demonstration to find solutions to transport challenges, and to better understand their role in the ongoing shift towards sustainable transport systems.
Partners also recognized that the traditional view of transport and business models leads to sub-optimization and rebound effects that does not realize the full potential of new solutions and could have unintended consequences.
To overcome these challenges, an integrated and holistic system-level perspective has been a defining factor for ITRL. Our joint efforts have showed the need to continue integrated transport research in ambitious projects engaging multiple stakeholders.
With a growing portfolio of impactful projects, new research initiatives, and an expanding knowledge base, ITRL remains committed to bridging academia, industry, and public stakeholders to drive system-level transformation in transport. This report outlines the center’s progress, key achievements, and the road ahead as we continue to challenge conventional paradigms and create a sustainable, integrated transport future.
The ITRL Setup
ITRL does integrated transport systems research through creation and coordination of several research projects funded by ITRL directly or externally. These projects vary in size and scope, but all are aligned with the ITRL research program.
ITRL gathers a large community of excellent researchers from a multitude of disciplines. The core of the community is the ITRL faculty members together with their PhD students and Postdocs.
The ITRL faculty membership stimulates an even stronger commitment and a direct sense of affiliation.
The ITRL research community provides access to relevant competence in the broad variety of disciplines needed to address the complex integrated transport system challenges.
An important aspect of ITRL is the active engagement of the partners. Partners are engaged in the management of the center, both with members of the steering group and with co-directors that are part of the executive committee.
Partners can have affiliated ITRL members that are active in various center activities and in research projects.
The partner engagement allows for competence development, networking, mobility and exchange.
The ITRL house provides an open place for meetings and interaction.
A unique aspect of ITRL is the labs and the experimental platforms that have been built up, for example the Research Concept Vehicles, the Smart Mobility Lab, and control tower setups for connected, supervised, and automated vehicles.
Proof-of-concepts (PoCs), demonstrations, living-labs and experimental platforms are also an important part of ITRL.
Future engineers and researchers need a whole palette of skills to address the wicked problems of integrated transport systems of today and tomorrow.
Research and education are strongly linked at KTH and ITRL provides unique opportunities for students to work practically and learn from our experimental platforms.
ITRL offers practical knowledge and skills; contacts with students for recruitment; life-long learning opportunities; and influence on KTHs education.
ITRL has an exceptional track record in reaching public visibility, both in public media and in high profile external visits.
We work actively to produce demonstrations and visible research results together with our partners.
ITRL are organizing many communication activities: breakfast seminar series, external seminars at partners, website, social media (LinkedIn), partner workshops, and round table discussions.
According to the UN , close to a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions come from transport, a figure that is projected to increase greatly in in the coming years. For this reason, the UN recognize the importance of transport related emissions in numerous Sustainable Development Goals.
SDG 3
Why it matters: ”Air pollution, both ambient and household, increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease”
SDG 9
Why it matters: ”Efficient transportation services generate employment and wealth and drive economic development.”
SDG 11
Why it matters: “In 2016, 9 in 10 people living in urban areas still breathed air that did not meet the WHO’s air quality guidelines value for particulate matter”
*Please note, the above is a selection of SDGs related to transport, not an exhaustive list.
The Importance of Stakeholders
In order to have the maximum impact through our research, we assemble experts in the following areas:
Novel technical transport solutions with high impact/potential.
Areas of improvement in today’s transport system.
Implementation barriers and mechanisms.
Read more about how we conduct our research, as well as ongoing and completed projects
ITRL was co-founded by KTH, Scania, and Ericsson and more recently welcomed Trafikverket and Region Stockholm as core partners. This unique collaboration enables us to merge the interests of the information and communication technology, and transport sectors, whilst gaining critical policy input and a societal perspective from our public partners.
ITRL – The Integrated Transport Research Lab is a well-established, highly renowned KTH research center in collaboration with Scania, Region Stockholm, and Trafikverent, focusing on transdisciplinary research on sustainable road transport systems.
