The fast train alone is not enough. If intermodality does not come into play, creating a bridge with other means, networks and services, part of the advantage is lost along the way. At the Roman event Most 2026 «Mobility that becomes a system», the theme is the transition from projects to applications: how to bring technologies to the market and into daily life. But also how to continue on the path traced by the Pnrr.
The National Center for Sustainable Mobility, founded in 2022 with funds from the Plan, presented the balance of the work carried out and the next steps. First of all with a financial item: "378 million euros from the Pnrr" transformed in the last three years into "research activities, technological transfer and operational support for sustainable mobility", explains a note. The bill includes "over 50 prototypes and 90 projects with high technological maturity, for a total value of approximately 110 million euros". But we need to move from theory to practice. The new plan is worth around 10 million euros: the largest portion, 5.5 million, goes to the Fast Track to Market program, designed to accompany research results towards applications and the market. 1.5 million euros are also foreseen for projects driven by industrial needs, one million for startups and 500 thousand euros to promote access to research infrastructures.
The goal is to shorten the distance between the laboratory and the company. For the president of Most, Ferruccio, however, "without rules the technology remains a prototype". For Resta, «the question is not what happens to Most after the Pnrr, but what mobility we want for the Italy of tomorrow». And the transition requires decisions: «The tools are there, and they are ours: now we need the courage to make choices», he adds. Smaller companies are also included in the Centre's work. Through the tenders, 174 PMs were involved"; in the two-year period 2024-2025, the entrepreneurship initiatives collected over 300 applications and awarded 8.5 million euros in contributions to 50 startups. Added to these are 2.9 million euros invested in equity in nine innovative startups. For the future, Most announces a consolidation plan 2027-2029 and a pipeline of over 70 million euros on Mur and European projects for the two-year period 2027-2028. Among the fields of research there is "the decarbonisation of transport, autonomous and connected mobility, infrastructure safety, logistics innovation", explains the Center. The thread that unites them is the use of data and technologies to connect vehicles, networks and services.
«We can have the fastest train, the most intelligent car, the most technological port, but if these systems do not communicate with each other we lose a huge part of their potential», observes the Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini. Continuity after the Pnrr is the political point: «We want to consolidate this model, give continuity to investments, transform the networks created with the Pnrr into a permanent asset for the country». An example of application comes from highways. The CEO of Autostrade per l'Italia, Arrigo Giana, recalls the work on the Naples ring road, which he presents as the "first Italian Smart Road certified by the MIT", created in collaboration with Most. Intelligent cameras, sensors and antennas allow us to collect traffic information and develop services such as "Dynamic Speed Limit, which suggests the optimal speed to improve fluidity and safety". For the number one of Aspi "innovation is an essential element for the future of the motorway sector". The group's commitment translates into "over 3.3 billion euros of investments in maintenance, infrastructure and technologies between 2025 and the first half of 2026 alone". The vice president of the Senate Licia Ronzulli closes the circle: «Sustainable mobility is not a one-off intervention but a system choice». For this reason, he maintains, "we now need to return to investing with continuity and vision", including maintenance, security and resilience of the networks.
