Empowering Truck Drivers – Revolutionizing European Logistics

The EU funding opportunity titled "Empowering Truck Drivers – Revolutionizing European Logistics," identified as PPPA-2025-EMPOWERTD, aims to enhance the working conditions of truck drivers by developing a user-friendly mobile application. This application will facilitate access to reliable information and community-driven feedback on points of interest along truck routes, addressing the inherent information disparities in the trucking sector.

The maximum funding available for this initiative is €600,000, with one grant anticipated for a single consortium. The call for proposals is categorized under the PPPA Project Grants, utilizing a budget-based model. The application process is a single-stage submission, with an opening date set for September 2, 2025, and a deadline on November 4, 2025.

Eligible applicants must form a consortium of multiple organizations, which might include small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies, universities, and research institutes capable of app development. The focus of this project encompasses the transport sector, specifically on road logistics, with strong emphasis on ICT and software services.

The successful consortium will be tasked with identifying key locations, determining functional requirements, developing the application and its supporting infrastructure, and conducting user testing. The project is positioned to improve truck drivers’ job satisfaction and working conditions, potentially addressing the current driver shortage in Europe.

Overall, the initiative targets the development and implementation stage of the app, emphasizing a strategic approach to create a community where truck drivers can share information and feedback. The expected impact includes making the trucking profession more appealing and fostering systemic changes towards better working environments and efficient transportation networks.

Applicants are encouraged to refer to the detailed call document for more specific conditions regarding admissibility, eligibility, evaluation criteria, and legal considerations. The project represents a significant investment by the EU in digitizing the trucking industry and supporting drivers across Europe.

The EU Funding Opportunity: Empowering Truck Drivers Revolutionizing European Logistics, call PPPA-2025-EMPOWERTD, is a PPPA Project Grant (PPPA-PJG) under the Pilot Projects & Preparation Actions (PPPA) Programme. It aims to build a reliable and user-friendly platform, specifically a free app for truckers, to access information and provide feedback on points of interest, thereby reducing information asymmetries in the market. The expected impact is to provide truckers with advance access to community-driven information about services at points of interest along their routes, including ratings and comments on service quality. This will guide decisions made by truckers and transport managers, improve working conditions by focusing on service quality, and empower truck drivers by allowing them to share opinions and report bad practices. The long-term consequences include contributing to a more attractive profession for truckers, increased respect for their role in the economy, and alleviating the current shortage of drivers.

The scope of the project involves designing, developing, and implementing the app, ensuring the information generated is available and exploitable by third-party systems. The work includes identifying points of interest, defining main indicators and information needs of truckers, determining functional requirements, developing the app and supporting systems, testing, deployment, and communication.

The call is a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 02 September 2025, and the deadline is 04 November 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The total budget for the topic is 600,000 EUR for the year 2025, and the indicative number of grants to be awarded is 1. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is PPPA Action Grant Budget-Based [PPPA-AG].

Conditions for application include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries: Described in section 6 of the call document.

3. Other Eligible Conditions: Described in section 6 of the call document.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in section 7 of the call document.

5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes, described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.

5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds, described in section 9 of the call document.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, described in section 4 of the call document.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Described in section 10 of the call document.

Applicants should refer to the call document and annexes for detailed information. Key documents include the Call document, application form templates (available in the Submission System with an example for reference), Model Grant Agreements (PPPA MGA), a detailed budget table, COMMISSION DECISION of 22.4.2025 on the financing of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the field of transport and the adoption of the work programme for 2025, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants, who can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header. For help related to this call, contact MOVE-C1-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu. Additional support is available through the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual.

In summary, this funding opportunity seeks to improve the lives and working conditions of truck drivers by creating a community-driven app that provides reliable information about points of interest along their routes. This app will empower drivers, promote better service quality at truck stops, and contribute to a more resilient and attractive trucking industry. A consortium will be awarded the grant to design, develop, and implement this app, making the generated information available for wider use. The project aims to address information gaps, improve working conditions, and ultimately alleviate the driver shortage in the European logistics sector.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type is a consortium.

Funding Type: The funding type is a PPPA Project Grant. The type of Model Grant Agreement is PPPA Action Grant Budget-Based.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The awarded applicant must be a consortium.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is described in section 6 of the call document.

Target Sector: The target sector is transport, specifically focusing on improving working conditions for truck drivers and revolutionizing European logistics. The project involves the development of an app, indicating a focus on ICT and software services within the transport sector.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on European logistics, implying that the opportunity is relevant to countries within Europe.

Project Stage: The project stage is development and implementation, as the call specifies designing, developing, and implementing an app. This suggests the project is beyond the idea or research phase and is geared towards creating a functional application.

Funding Amount: The budget for this topic is EUR 600,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money to design, develop, and implement the app.

Application Stages: There is a single stage for the application process.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is 1, suggesting a low success rate.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Summary:

This EU funding opportunity, titled "Empowering Truck Drivers – Revolutionizing European Logistics," aims to improve the working conditions of truck drivers and enhance the efficiency of the European logistics sector. The European Commission is offering a PPPA Project Grant of EUR 600,000 to a consortium that can design, develop, and implement a user-friendly mobile application for truck drivers. This app will provide drivers with access to reliable, community-driven information about services and points of interest along their routes, including ratings and comments on service quality. The goal is to reduce information asymmetries in the market, empower drivers to make informed decisions, and incentivize service providers to improve their infrastructure and service quality.

The awarded consortium will be responsible for identifying key points of interest, defining relevant indicators and information needs for truckers, determining functional requirements, developing the app and its supporting systems, conducting thorough testing, deploying the app, and managing communication. The application process involves a single stage, with a planned opening date of September 2, 2025, and a deadline of November 4, 2025. The application form is available in the Submission System.

The project's expected impact includes creating a more attractive profession for truckers, increasing respect for their role in the economy, alleviating the current driver shortage, and improving productivity and safety within the transportation network. The app should also enable the sharing of opinions and reporting of bad practices, fostering a sense of solidarity and accountability among truck drivers. The long-term vision is to drive systemic change towards dignified working conditions and a more competitive and resilient transportation network across Europe.