The Port of Antwerp-Bruges hosted Belgium’s first demonstration of a fully autonomous level 4 industrial vehicle on a public road. The event took place during the Port of the Future – Autonomous Summit, which brought together port operators, technology companies and policymakers to showcase the existing applications of autonomous mobility across land, sea and air.
The trial was carried out by Swedish technology company Einride, a specialist in digital, electric and autonomous freight transport. The firm deployed its cabless vehicle connected to an artificial intelligence-based control tower. The initiative was made possible by a new Belgian regulatory framework, marking a national first and positioning the Port of Antwerp-Bruges among Europe’s pioneers in driverless transport solutions.
The autonomous truck was not the only highlight. The event included more than twenty live demonstrations of autonomous technologies, from inspection and monitoring drones to unmanned vessels, container shuttles and remote-controlled vehicles. According to the organisers, the aim is to accelerate adoption of systems that can reduce waiting times, improve safety by limiting staff exposure to high-risk tasks, and contribute to climate goals through lower emissions.
The introduction of autonomous trucking forms part of a wider ecosystem in which the port seeks to act as a catalyst for European innovation. Regulatory sandboxes supported by the European Commission, the federal government and the Flemish Region allow new technologies to be tested and scaled in one of the world’s most complex logistics environments.
Einride already operates autonomous fleets in Sweden and the United States, leveraging years of data collection and hardware and software development. The vehicle demonstrated in Antwerp uses radar, lidar and cameras to achieve 360-degree vision, and allows a single remote operator to control multiple trucks at once. This configuration, the company argues, paves the way for safer and more economically sustainable freight transport.
The day featured contributions from both institutional and business representatives. Jacques Vandermeiren, chief executive of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, emphasised that autonomy “is not a distant concept but a reality that is already making operations smarter, safer and more sustainable.” For Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke, the approval of Belgium’s first level 4 autonomous truck is “a step towards safer transport and a signal of the country’s pioneering role in the mobility of tomorrow.” Andrea De Candido of the European Commission highlighted the alignment with the EU’s ambitions for efficient, safe and scalable automated mobility solutions.
