Barcelona chosen to head European sustainable mobility project

As head of the 'MOBILus' consortium, Barcelona has been chosen by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), ahead of rival European cities like Amsterdam, to lead a new innovation group that will work on urban mobility.

"This innovation center groups together all the research on sustainable mobility being done in universities and brings it to industry," said the Barcelona council's head of mobility and infrastructure, Manuel Valdés.

The new project, due to become operational from 2020, also involves centers in Copenhagen, Prague, Munich and the Dutch city of Helmond. The MOBiLus group led by Barcelona's local government includes firms like BMW, Siemens and TomTom.

"First significant recognition"

According to Valdés, the project is the "first significant recognition" for the consortium headed by Barcelona: "We see it as a recognition of the application of sustainability policies in the city, which are also reflected on street level," he added.