Recent article prepared by our colleagues LUXINNOVATION in Luxembourg
Ohmio's Director Europe, Robert Sykora (left), Executive Chairman, Mohammed Hikmet (centre), and CEO, Dean Zabrieszach (right)
Autonomous shuttles are an interesting alternative for transport providers looking for sustainable last-mile solutions. The Luxembourg railway operator initially launched an international call for tenders for self-driving shuttle buses in 2020, and the contract has recently been awarded to Ohmio. In early 2023, the company will provide two vehicles to be implemented in the context of a three-year project.
Intelligent transport systems
Ohmio’s solutions go further than just the vehicles. “Originally, we are an infrastructure company. We have been working with intelligent transport systems, where the infrastructure is able to communicate with drivers, for over two decades,” explains Chairman Mohammed Hikmet. “In 2015, we decided to think about how this communication would be done with vehicles without drivers, and two years later we had developed our first autonomous shuttle capable of communicating with its environment. Instead of just developing self-driving vehicles, we provide an entire ecosystem.”
Ohmio’s vehicles have already been deployed in New Zealand, Australia, China and South Korea. “Ohmio’s experience and achievements in Korea, as well as its modular platform approach and first experience of level 4 autonomous driving were among the most interesting aspects of their offer,” says Carlo Hansen, Chef du Service BU at CFL.
The Luxembourg contract is the company’s first project in Europe. “We will work together with CFL and other partners to develop a system that ensures that the vehicles operate safely and efficiently,” says CEO Dean Zabrieszach.”
European opportunities for autonomous vehicles
However, the company’s journey to Luxembourg started well before the CFL tender. “When we attended the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Copenhagen in 2018, we met Joost Ortjens, business developer at national innovation agency Luxinnovation, who introduced Luxembourg to us,” recalls Mr Zabrieszach. “He told us that it is a very progressive country interested in implementing autonomous vehicles. This gave us the opportunity to show our vehicles and later, to respond to the CFL call.”
“The European market abounds with opportunities.”
Ohmio will use its new Luxembourg base to develop business opportunities across Europe. “We made a submission in Finland last week, we are working on a major project in the UK and we have interest from Austria, Portugal, Italy and Germany. The European market abounds with opportunities.”
To read the full article, click on the link below.
Ohmio Automotion Ltd expands to Luxembourg (tradeandinvest.lu)