Abstract
The Thematic Network FURORE - Future Road Vehicle Research establishes a platform of leading independent European stakeholders to discuss breakthrough technologies and the corresponding research demand for vehicles of the year 2020 and beyond. The network focuses predominantly on road vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, but is also analysing potential breakthrough technologies in advanced fuels (e.g. natural gas, biomass and hydrogen) and systems such as hybrids and fuel cells. To meet with these future requirements, it is clear that future European research initiatives must be based on a system approach and integrate all areas of automotive expertise to ensure the best-possible solutions in relation to the European Research Area. FURORE serves as an umbrella to initiate basic research activities for the development of these technologies by universities and R&D organisations, enabling product development by the automotive industry and providing input for future research programmes through more transparency in automotive research and development. The conclusions of FURORE are published as an Automotive R&D Technology Roadmap, a short version will be presented for the first time at the 9th EAEC Congress 2003.
For the realisation of this project several organisations, among them usually competing companies, formed a task force. All FURORE partner companies are members of EARPA, the European Automotive Research Partners Association. Additional input came from European automotive companies organised in the subgroup "Powertrain" of EUCAR, European oil industries organised in CONCAWE and other leading European organisations in automotive research. The nature of FURORE network members enables a unique insight into future automotive technology. The expectations outlined by these organisations are to provide an independent expertise for the EU and member
States for future research programmes regarding road transport, as a guidance for research but do not constitute a recommendation for legislation. Furthermore the roadmap is intended to aid the co-operation between industry, research institutions and universities.