Challenges and opportunities for transport infrastructure

Sweden’s development and prosperity depends heavily on efficient transport and requires a reliable, safe and sustainable transport infrastructure. Our country’s topographic and demographic conditions, with sparsely populated areas and rapidly growing cities, mean that our transport infrastructure is both complex and socially critical in several respects. The stable and long-term financing of our infrastructure is not enough; we also need innovation that results in increased sustainability, increased productivity and more efficient use of transport infrastructure.

The vision of InfraSweden

A sustainable transport infrastructure that supports the transition towards Agenda 2030 and achieves climate neutrality 2045

To achieve this vision, the programme has three main objectives:

Increased sustainability

Through transport infrastructure innovations, the program will contribute to the sustainable development of the transport infrastructure system and transportations. An ecologically and economically sustainable transport infrastructure is a prerequisite for the creation of a socially sustainable society, characterized by accessibility, gender equality, security and safety. The program supports innovations for the infrastructure that contribute to climate-neutral transport and increases the infrastructure system’s resilience and robustness in the event of unexpected and radical changes.

Competitive innovations for transport infrastructure

The program will promote the development of competitive products, processes and services that will be nationally and internationally in demand. Through openness and collaboration, innovations made in our surrounding world will contribute to the creation of a climate-neutral transport infrastructure in Sweden. Here it is also important that a climate-neutral transport infrastructure also enables or contributes to the creation of efficient and climate-neutral transports of people and goods.

Open, dynamic and attractive sector

The program will promote creativity, interdisciplinarity, stakeholder collaboration and a holistic view. A strong and dynamic transport infrastructure sector is built by competent people. A prerequisite for engaging these is that the sector is able to show how the work contributes to creating a sustainable society and that the tasks as such are also sustainably organized, ie characterized by openness, collaboration, innovation capacity and development opportunities. Diversity and gender equality are obvious starting points and goals in this work.

InfraSweden: a strategic innovation programme

Vinnova, the Swedish energy agency and the Swedish research council Formas jointly finance a total of 17 strategic innovation programmes, of which InfraSweden2030 is one. Cooperation in areas of strategic importance to Sweden both creates the preconditions for finding sustainable solutions to global social challenges and increases Sweden’s competitiveness in the international arena. Businesses, academia and organisations join forces under the umbrella of these programmes to develop the sustainable products and services of the future. Anyone who is able to assist with this development is welcome to apply for funding.

InfraSweden makes open calls for innovation in transport infrastructure once per year. The programme also organizes seminars and workshops with industry experts to promote collaboration and innovation in the Swedish transport infrastructure sector.

For further information please contact programkontoret@infrasweden.nu

InfraSweden works through five focus areas