Cluster Trasporti: a year full of novelties 

Published 30 December 2025

The entire transport and mobility sector is experiencing today a phase of profound transformation that radically redefines the boundaries between road travel, maritime routes, and rail paths. This transition is part of a framework of complexity, characterized by unstable markets and, above all, by a regulatory evolution that requires ready and coordinated responses. In such a scenario, the National Cluster Trasporti has taken on a fundamental role in defining an overall vision capable of leading the sector toward clear and shared objectives. In 2025, in particular, the action focused on identifying the points necessary to manage the passage toward new paradigms, those of the “seventh revolution”, intervening in areas ranging from road transport, to local public transport, up to multimodal logistics (railway and maritime).

Acting as an element of synthesis between the demands of the productive world and the great guidelines of digitalization and sustainability, the association confirms its commitment to promoting an evolution that aims to reconcile the objectives of the double transition with the economic, social, and industrial solidityof the entire supply chain. Thanks to this coordination, in fact, the challenges linked to digitalization and the development of AI in transport, to energy efficiency and to decarbonization are transformed into concrete tools to guarantee the competitiveness of the entire sector.

The objective of the activities is to transform the current transition into an opportunity for relaunch, ensuring that every technological progress contributes to a safer, interconnected, and resilient mobility.Here is a balance of the activity of 2025 but above all the initiatives that in 2026 the National Cluster Trasporti wants to concretize together with its members.

From market analysis to the push towards digitalization and automation

During 2025, the National Cluster Trasporti promoted a series of technical meetings and moments of institutional dialogue aimed at analyzing the transformations underway in the mobility system. The agenda took off with an analysis officially presented on March 31 in a workshop dedicated to scenarios of the automotive sector in Italy and in the rest of Europe. On this occasion, the criticalities that are conditioning the market were explored, including the loss of purchasing power in Italy (but also in Europe) compared to the continuous increase in production costs and vehicle prices, delays in the development processes of new technologies and the uncertainty caused by the regulatory framework.

Subsequently, on May 28, a conference was held focused on technological innovation applied to local public transport. During the works, future models of collective mobility were outlined, highlighting how companies in the sector can play a central role in the adoption of new digital and integrated services. The results of the analysis conducted here were then shared with members to fuel the public debate on the transformations of urban transport.

An appointment of particular importance was the conference of October 1, organized in collaboration with the HD Motion initiative, focused on the use of Artificial Intelligence and digital technologies for a smarter mobility. The event, which saw the participation of the leaders of the competent ministries (MIMIT and MIT) and important industrial realities, served as a platform to launch the proposal for a national plan dedicated to autonomous vehicles, an initiative actively supported also by Anfia.

Sector analysis and the technical working groups

In addition to these wide-ranging events, the year was punctuated by the activities of the technical working groups, which represent the operational heart of the association. The Working Group (WG) dedicated to maritime transport, the WG Mare, met on July 21 to discuss sustainability, port intermodality and lightweighting of materials. Similarly, the Working Group dedicated to rail transport, the WG Ferro, held its first meeting on September 16, focusing attention on energy efficiency, on alternative tractions and on the implementation of automation systems, also for predictive maintenance.

These moments of study and coordination allowed for the collection of fundamental elements for the update of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) of the Cluster, guaranteeing thus that the future directions of innovation are consistent with the needs expressed by sector operators.

The new frontiers of biofuels and European diplomacy

On the decarbonization side, the commitment instead focused on the valorization of renewable fuelsthrough the presentation of the strategic Manifesto/Notebook shared with the Lombardy Region and the Lombardy Mobility Cluster. This document, illustrated to the Brussels institutions in April 2025, has firmly supported the need for an approach based on technological neutrality in the revision of the regulations for the road transport, passenger and freight sector. An analytical and diplomatic effort that has finally produced concrete results last December, when the European Commission announced its opening towards the use of e-fuels and advanced biofuels even in a future perspective, guaranteeing thus a greater flexibility to manufacturers of heavy and commercial vehicles and allowing an ecological transition more sustainable for the entire production chain.

Themes, those at the center of the automotive “package of lights and shadows”, which the Cluster will continue to follow with the utmost attention, with the aim of promoting a transition that is truly sustainable(on the economic, social and industrial level) for the entire sector.

Future horizons and investment opportunities

The 2026 agenda for the Cluster Trasporti opens therefore under the sign of continuity, with the project HD Motion, whose closure is planned for the month of April.

Already in the first weeks of the year, the Cluster will dedicate itself to the planning of content and the identification of experts for the conference on multimodal logistics planned for March at LetExpo in Verona, an event that will be supported by a study currently under development, to outline the country’s strategic perspectives, especially for technological development.

Simultaneously, the work of the technical groups will flow into the drafting of the Position Paper to define the guidelines for port development and maritime technological integration for the next three years.

A significant step will also be represented by the monitoring of the MIMIT Innovation Agreements, whose funding window will open its doors on January 14, 2026, offering important resources for the transition digital and green of the automotive sector. Finally, the annual program will be enriched by new thematic meetings and a series of specialized workshops aimed at exploring the technological evolution of the different transport modes, the new dynamics of urban logistics and the impact of digital innovation on future mobility models.