Exploring a Large-Scale Demonstrator for Autonomous Vehicles in Catalonia
The Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), in collaboration with CARNET, held a session on the 6th of November titled “Exploring a large-scale demonstrator for autonomous vehicles in Catalonia“. The meeting, which took place in the context of the Tomorrow.Mobility Congress, brought together public and private sector representatives to promote the region as a European reference environment for intelligent mobility.
A Large-Scale Demonstrator in Southern Europe
The central focus of the day was the desire to position Catalonia as one of the main large-scale demonstrators (LSD) in Southern Europe for Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technologies. This ambition is based on a robust ecosystem that includes test fields, motorways, urban areas, logistics centers, vehicle manufacturers, and solid collaboration between academia and industry through CARNET.
The Catalan Traffic Service (Servei Català de Trànsit – SCT) announced its leadership in establishing an Office for autonomous and connected vehicle testing. The main objectives of this office are:
-
-
-
- To create a stable structure to coordinate, authorize, and supervise testing of autonomous and connected vehicles, ensuring road safety and regulatory coherence.
- To act as a single point of contact for authorization for companies, research centers, and administrations.
- To align with the Catalonia Living Lab, naturally continuing the collaboration initiated with CARNET and ACCIÓ, but extending the scope to interurban and logistics environments.
-
-
The SCT aims to facilitate innovation, with the initial focus on platooning as the first step towards this new intelligent and safe mobility. The AP-7 has been identified as a potential European test corridor, with the SCT acting as the safety guarantor and coordinator of the technical and regulatory framework.
Commitment to the Intelligent Road Network
The Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition (Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològica) reaffirmed its commitment to a Connected and Intelligent Road Program. The goal is to turn the Generalitat’s road network into a Livinglab, with the forecast of achieving 1,450 km with connected and autonomous driving by 2035 (780 km connected by 2030).
A key component of this strategy is the development of a digital twin for the road network, which will cover 326 km (245 km on the Gencat network). This project is jointly promoted by the DGIM and SCT. The roadmap foresees:
-
-
-
- 2025: Public bidding and contracting.
- 2026-2028: Contract execution (digital twin development).
- 2029-2030: Implementation and scalability of the digital twin.
-
-
European Context and Regulatory Framework
The session also addressed the European CCAM (Connected, Cooperative & Automated Mobility) Context, presented by Applus+ IDIADA, i2cat, and CARNET. The European transition was highlighted, marked by the challenges of a lack of regulatory harmonization and the need for a common framework for safe testing and deployment.
In this regard, the Catalan Traffic Service will commission a study on the necessary changes in the regulatory framework to facilitate connected and autonomous vehicle testing during the first quarter of 2026. The objectives include:
-
-
-
- Coordination with the DGT (Spanish Traffic Authority) and European bodies (UNECE, ETSC) to ensure regulatory alignment.
- Defining the technical and legal conditions for authorizing tests.
- Establishing safety, liability, and insurance protocols.
-
-
Catalonia, which already has the experience of the Catalonia Living Lab, SCT leadership, ITS infrastructure, and inspiration from international projects like Aurora, considers that the challenge is no longer technological, but one of governance, and they are prepared for it to continue advancing. The event served to articulate the common strategy needed to lead autonomous and connected mobility.
