The Spanish city of Murcia has been selected as the exclusive urban testing ground for CARMONY, a three-year European Commission initiative designed to transform traffic management through real-time orchestration, intelligent incident response, and data-driven emergency services coordination.
First Comprehensive Urban Trial For Mixed Traffic Orchestration Framework
The Ayuntamiento de Murcia announced its participation in the Horizon Europe-funded project, which positions the southeastern Spanish capital as the only location where urban-focused solutions will be developed and validated. The project operates across two pilot environments: Murcia handles urban scenarios while Luxembourg addresses interurban highway conditions. With a total budget of €6.5 million from the European Commission, the initiative runs from May 2025 through April 2028 at no cost to municipal coffers.
CARMONY represents a collaboration between ten European partners spanning research institutions, technology companies, and public administrations. Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH, an Austrian research center that constitutes Europe’s largest facility for virtual vehicle development with approximately 300 employees, coordinates the consortium.
Three Operational Scenarios Target Daily Traffic Challenges
Murcia’s pilot program focuses on three distinct use cases addressing practical urban management needs. The first scenario concentrates on mobility optimization through vehicle behavior analysis and intelligent routing systems. This approach examines how connected vehicles can receive dynamic guidance for route selection, access management, and deviation handling to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow across the metropolitan area.
The second application addresses incident management on public roads. The system aims to improve early detection of accidents and breakdowns while enabling rapid circulation reorganization and enhanced coordination among municipal services. This capability could significantly reduce the impact of unexpected disruptions on overall urban mobility.
Emergency response enhancement forms the third focus area. By optimizing routes and response times through coordination between mobility infrastructure, emergency services, and intelligent transportation systems, the project targets improved public safety outcomes and faster arrival at incident locations.
Framework Integrates Autonomous Vehicle Considerations
The CARMONY orchestration framework addresses scenarios involving mixed traffic environments where traditionally driven vehicles share roads with up to Level 4 autonomous vehicles. According to project documentation registered with CORDIS, the system provides recommendations through smartphone applications and online dashboards while preserving human decision-making authority.
Long-term simulations will demonstrate potential system impacts, with project targets including a 10% reduction in travel time and traffic congestion. The initiative estimates potential societal savings of up to €10 billion across Europe and individual time savings of 10-15 hours annually. Urban deployments similar to the Murcia pilot could contribute to emissions reductions, with projections suggesting CO2 savings of up to 280,000 tons annually in metropolitan areas comparable to Paris.
Consortium Spans Six European Countries
The project brings together expertise from Austria, Spain, France, Greece, Luxembourg, and Sweden. Spanish partners include Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Fundació Eurecat, and ETRA Investigación y Desarrollo. The University of Luxembourg and mobility consultancy LuxMobility represent the Grand Duchy, while Greek participation comes from the Hellenic Centre for Research and Technology and Frontier Innovations. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and French company Hypervisoul Group complete the partnership.
The CCAM Partnership, a European initiative coordinating research on Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility, identified CARMONY among projects selected under its 2024 work program alongside the parallel CHORUS project addressing similar orchestration challenges.
Murcia Continues Smart City Investment Pattern
The seventh-largest city in Spain, Murcia serves approximately 472,000 residents within its municipal boundaries and over 670,000 across the broader metropolitan area. The city has previously engaged in digitalization initiatives, and this project adds to growing European investment in urban mobility transformation under the Horizon Europe research framework.
The CARMONY initiative operates under Horizon Europe’s Cluster 5, which addresses Climate, Energy and Mobility priorities. The project received a €6 million EU contribution from an overall €6.5 million budget, with remaining costs covered by consortium partners.
