Application deadline : the Monday 9 November 2026 à noon (Paris time).
Scientific background
The development of functional mobility vehicles and systems that address material challenges (lightweight, local access, inclusivity, cost, durability), environmental challenges (low energy and ecological footprint, recyclability), economic, social, legal and political challenges (sovereignty, system compatibility, etc.) is underpinned by the dual capacity to manage the underlying transport processes and ensure the long-term sustainability of the targeted performance, with the aim of resource efficiency and conservation.
Mobility can be defined here in terms of both the intrinsic properties and the intended applications of mobility systems, whilst sustainability is seen as the result of optimising the design of these systems in light of the relevant constraints. This call for projects aims to re-examine standard approaches to the design and manufacture of functional systems, taking these constraints into account, through combined methods involving experimental or theoretical investigations, integration or deployment.
Proposed projects must fall within one or more of the following three areas:
- In relation to the transport of people and goods, the issue of resource use could be addressed, for example, by: – Electrochemical energy storage versus the challenges of materials development – Alternative fuels for transport – Lightweight, sustainable and high-performance materials These projects must incorporate a life-cycle assessment (LCA) and eco-design, with the aim of reducing the overall environmental footprint of the materials, devices and systems developed.
- With regard to environmental issues, the report may also address all matters relating to pollution caused by transport modes and the persistence of such pollution : chemical pollution (gases, hydrocarbons, etc.), particulate pollution, biological pollution (biofilms, invasive species, etc.), damage to the landscape, etc. Beyond simply assessing existing systems, the aim is to rethink these mobility and transport systems in terms of socio-environmental challenges and their sustainability throughout their life cycle.With regard to the mobility of living species, dispersal is a prerequisite for the colonisation of new habitats, and we may examine how human mobility systems either prevent this dispersal or, conversely, facilitate it – for example, through the unintended transport of exotic species that subsequently become invasive, including microbial species.
- The third strand concerns understanding transport systems and flows, and their sustainability. Projects may therefore focus on the development of optimisation algorithms for transport systems, logistics and flow management. Approaches drawn from operational research, potentially combined with artificial intelligence methods, can help to significantly reduce resource consumption, emissions and operational costs. Research may also focus, for example, on the optimisation of public transport, delivery routes, the sharing of transport resources, multimodal planning, dynamic fleet management, or the optimal deployment of emergency vehicles or ambulances. Particular attention may be paid to the robustness of these methods in the face of uncertainties, real-time constraints and sustainability criteria. Finally, the challenges of transport system planning at different geographical scales (from the urban environment to the global level), multimodality, the coordination of mobility stakeholders, and transport usage patterns will fall within the scope of this call.
To apply, please log in to the NOA app: https://noa.cnrs.fr/. You will be asked to log in via the RENATER «identity federation» (using your JANUS codes if you are a CNRS staff member) and you will be able to select the «mobisout2027» call from the list of calls.
If you are a member of staff at a CNRS unit, please use your institutional email address linked to JANUS so that certain fields can be pre-filled (information about yourself or your laboratory, as well as those of your partners). If you are not a member of staff at a CNRS unit, you can register via your institution’s identity federation with RENATER. If this is not possible, please create a local account.