10 Luxembourg is going autonomous By Lena Mårtensson, Senior Marketing & Communication Officer, Luxinnovation GIE Self-driving bus shuttle manufacturer Ohmio Automotion Ltd, with roots in Australia and New Zealand, has opened its first European office in Luxembourg. After winning a key contract with national railway company CFL, Ohmio will use Luxembourg as its base for addressing the growing demand for autonomous vehicles in Europe. 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 provided two vehicles to be implemented in the context of a threeyear 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, South Korea and New York, and are soon to be deployed in the UK, the Netherlands and Finland. “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.” Images: © Ohmio
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