Smart & Synchromodal
Urban Hubs

Bringing flexibility and zero-emission delivery to the last mile

In dense urban areas, delivering goods efficiently while keeping emissions low presents a persistent challenge. Limited space, rising costs and fragmented infrastructure often force logistics operators to work in silos, duplicating efforts and competing for limited resources. The IKIGAI Smart and Synchromodal Urban Hubs pilot is designed to demonstrate how fixed and mobile logistics hubs, sustainable vehicles and intelligent coordination can improve last-mile delivery.

Two cities, one shared vision

This IKIGAI pilot operates in two living labs: Paris, France and Esplugues, in the Barcelona metropolitan area, Spain. Although they have different local contexts, they both have the same goal: to enable zero-emission, synchromodal parcel delivery through the collaborative use of infrastructure, data and resources.

In Paris, mobile river barges will be tested as floating logistics hubs, equipped with onboard sorting facilities and paired with cargo bikes for emission-free final delivery. These barges will act as standardised nodes in the network, capable of real-time coordination with other modes.

Esplugues will focus on micro-logistics hubs (both fixed and mobile) to support multimodal deliveries using electric vans and other zero-emission vehicles. Standardised communication across all stakeholders will encourage horizontal collaboration and the shared use of the SER (Shared European Resource) infrastructure.

Standardisation meets innovation

In both cities, the pilot will implement shared processes for loading, sorting, route optimisation and inventory management. These processes will be supported by AI-driven planning tools. Smart contracts will define operational and governance rules to ensure transparency and interoperability between different operators and modes

Business value

Smart and synchromodal urban hubs offer logistics companies and service providers:

• • Lower operational costs through shared infrastructure and optimised routing
  • Improved service quality, with reduced delivery times and higher reliability
  • Compliance and sustainability gains by adopting zero-emission delivery methods and meeting urban access regulations
  • Scalability through standardised processes that can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, creating new business opportunities and market growth potential.

For municipalities and policymakers, they present a pathway to:

• • Reduce traffic congestion and urban emissions
  • Improve land use efficiency in high-demand areas
  • Foster public-private cooperation in sustainable mobility initiatives

Challenges and way forward

Implementing such a collaborative model in busy cities is not without risks:

• • Technical limitations, such as battery range for electric barges and vans
  • Ensuring full stakeholder engagement and overcoming interoperability issues

This IKIGAI pilot will proceed by finalising local ecosystem agreements, setting up hubs and deploying the necessary tools, including AI-powered route planning, inventory management and smart contracts, before transitioning to live operations. The results will inform a governance model for scaling synchromodal hubs across other European cities, thus contributing directly to IKIGAI’s vision of interconnected, zero-emission logistics networks.