Call for Proposals: Collaboration on Sustainable Freight Transport in Nordic Region

The focus areas, objectives, priorities, and themes of this call include promoting collaboration between actors across the Nordic region to improve transport efficiency and sustainability, advancing sustainable freight transport development, and supporting efficient intermodal freight transport solutions that combine road, rail, sea, and air transport. The program particularly emphasizes optimizing the use of the existing transport system rather than infrastructure expansion, strengthening intermodal freight transport through improved integration of different transport modes, and addressing freight transport routes, corridors, and nodes by responding to their specific challenges and opportunities.

This initiative is designed to foster increased understanding of both shared and differing challenges and opportunities across Nordic countries in relation to intermodal freight transport. It aims to improve cooperation between stakeholders engaged in freight transport and increase the overall share of sustainable freight transport in the region. The program places strong importance on practical pilot and demonstration projects that can be implemented and evaluated, as well as initiatives that support the development of concrete intermodal transport solutions and strengthen collaboration frameworks between relevant actors.

The call is open to actors from academia, business, and the public sector across the Nordic region, with an emphasis on consortia involving multiple countries and diverse stakeholder groups. While there is flexibility regarding the location of the main applicant, the program highlights that administrative efficiency may be improved when the lead applicant is based in Sweden. Applicants are expected to demonstrate access to the necessary expertise, resources, and operational capacity, including data, infrastructure, and permits required for successful project implementation.

The total funding available under this call is approximately 10 million SEK, aimed at supporting multiple projects across the Nordic region. There are no strict upper limits on individual project grants, but cost-effectiveness is a key evaluation criterion. In practice, pilot and demonstration projects are generally expected to remain within indicative levels of around 3 million SEK, while other types of eligible initiatives may be closer to 1 million SEK. These figures are not mandatory limits but serve as guidance to ensure that proposals remain proportionate and aligned with the overall budget of the program.

Funding is primarily directed toward pilot and demonstration projects that contribute directly to the development of intermodal freight transport solutions. These projects may include digitalization initiatives, improved collaboration mechanisms, enhanced node functionality, or innovations that increase efficiency and sustainability within freight transport systems. Other project types such as studies and collaborative investigations may also be supported if they align with the program’s objectives and available funding.

Projects under this call are expected to run from October 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027. Proposals will be evaluated based on relevance, feasibility, quality and impact, and cost-effectiveness, with priority given to pilot and demonstration initiatives that demonstrate strong potential for practical implementation and long-term benefits for Nordic intermodal freight transport systems.

For more information, visit Swedish Transport Administration.