First manual demo journeys at Paderborn/Lippstadt airport
The "New Mobility Paderborn" (NeMo) initiative and the NeMo.bil project it initiated, which is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) with more than 18 million euros, have reached the next milestone. Last Friday, 11 April, the first manual demonstration drives of a NeMo.bil cab in the non-public field at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport took place in the company of the board and members of NeMo e.V. as well as those involved in the NeMo.bil project and its initiator, Prof. Dr. Thomas Tr?ster from the Paderborn University. Automated journeys are also planned in the Paderborn region in the foreseeable future.
NeMo e.V., which has more than 70 members from business, science and local authorities, is pursuing an ambitious vision: it wants to take a holistic view of mobility and create a sustainable mobility ecosystem. The first step is to put autonomous driving on the road as part of the NeMo.bil project. With extensive work in the fields of development, engineering, approval and testing, the project is right on schedule.
"We don't just talk, we do! Based on small and light vehicles that are electrically powered, we are achieving a level of efficiency that is unique in Germany. NeMo.bil is pursuing a new approach: we are picking people up at their doorsteps, especially in rural areas, and thus providing new impetus for resource-saving and individualised public transport that connects urban and rural areas," emphasise board members Andreas Speith, Christoph Rüther, Michael Heinemann and Simone Probst.
As part of the BMWK-funded project, the participants are developing a mobility system for demand-responsive passenger and freight transport, which they will also demonstrate as a prototype during the project period until 30 June 2026. To this end, NeMo.bil is pursuing an innovative approach with two automated vehicle types: Swarms of smaller vehicles (cabs) serve the first and last miles and join together on longer routes to form a convoy pulled by a larger vehicle (Pro).
The first manual demonstration journeys at the airport form the starting point for the test drive cycle. In the summer, NeMo.bil plans to present an automated cab, which will also be travelling in public spaces with a safety driver shortly afterwards. "The results of the approval procedures make us very confident that we will achieve our common goals," emphasises NeMo.bil consortium leader Marcus Zwick, Managing Director of INYO Mobility GmbH.
A grant from the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation in Paderborn, which has supported NeMo financially from the outset and is providing concrete support for implementation on the road with the NeMo.pilot project, is of great importance in this context. The participants are already working intensively on several follow-up projects to implement the concept in public spaces beyond mid-2026.
About the NeMo.bil project
19 partners are involved in the NeMo.bil project: Aspens GmbH, AVANCO Composites GmbH, BULIGHT GmbH, CADFEM Germany GmbH, CP Tech GmbH, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), dSPACE GmbH, FIWARE Foundation e.V., HOLON GmbH, INYO Mobility GmbH, LIA GmbH, Neue Mobilit?t Paderborn e.V., PHOENIX CONTACT E-Mobility GmbH, Poppe + Potthoff GmbH, Reisewitz GmbH & Co. KG,Augsburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Paderborn University, Berlin Science Centre and Dortmund University of Technology.
This text was translated automatically.
