What impact have CLOSER and partners made?
CLOSER is a neutral collaboration platform, knowledge hub and project workshop for increased transport efficiency and well-functioning logistics. We are a national catalyst where business, academia and the public sector meet to solve complex challenges within the freight transport system.
Thanks to our core funding, we have a stable foundational structure. This enables us to initiate and lead large-scale initiatives and spread new knowledge so that more can benefit from the knowledge. In 2025, CLOSER's innovation and project portfolio was a full 24 times larger than our core funding. In other words, we scale up the initial investment 24 times over.
The results of our initiatives are clearly visible in society. In 2025, 11 per cent of Sweden's electric trucks operated within our projects. Below, you can explore the impact we have made together with our partners.
Main funders of CLOSER's core programme:
Core programme funders:
CLOSER's impact during 2025
330
Programme and project partners
25
Innovation projects
24 times
the core funding is the value of the project portfolio
18 countries
We collaborate with 18 different countries in our projects
1,310 event visitors
During the year, we welcomed 1,310 visitors to our events
16 Full-time employees
Programme start 2011
Since 2011, we have worked for a transport-efficient society
Electrification
From the first electric truck to a national system shift
2018: Sweden's first electric truck
The very first fully electric truck to drive on Sweden's roads was made possible in CLOSER's project DenCity, which was partially funded by Region Västra Götaland, Vinnova and Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration). It was a first step that proved that electric drive for heavy traffic in urban environments was a practical possibility.
Today: We lead the rollout across the whole of Sweden
From a single truck in 2018, development has progressed rapidly. Through large-scale projects funded by FFI (Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation) such as REEL, E-charge, TREE, DHEELS and OREEL, CLOSER is now driving the transition across the whole country, from urban deliveries to heavy long-distance transport.
To understand the scale of what we do today, it is enough to look at the national statistics. The transition is happening now, and it is happening in our networks. In 2025, there were 1,095 electric trucks in Sweden, 40 per cent are driven by our partners and 11 per cent operate in our projects.
The power that arises when actors collaborate to drive technology shifts is important and enormous. This becomes particularly clear at CLOSER and Lindholmen Science Park, whose initiatives have helped us to transition for real.
Lars Reinholdsson
Former CEO and Senior Advisor, LBC Frakt i Värmland AB
11 %
of Sweden's electric trucks operate in our projects
40 %
of the country's electric trucks are driven by our partners
To accelerate the transition of heavy transport, all actors in the ecosystem surrounding electrification need to collaborate. CLOSER and Lindholmen Science Park have created an important platform where this takes place and where we together create the insights that take us more quickly towards feasible solutions.
Anders Berger
Director Public Affairs, Volvo Group
REEL
E-Charge
TREE: Transition to efficient electrified forestry transport
DHEELS
An emission-free Stockholm
CLOSER drives the transition towards an emission-free Stockholm
Through the STOLT initiative, CLOSER joins forces with the City of Stockholm and 35 other actors for an emission-free inner city by 2030. As support for project management and communication, CLOSER runs system demonstrations in a real urban environment, where the sustainable logistics of the future is tested, refined and made ready to become the "new normal".
Concrete results so far
- Two electrified contracts are under way, with a further 6–8 planned for 2026.
- 50 new electric mopeds are on the streets, with a further 25 on the way.
- 130 car parking spaces have been transformed into vibrant spaces (outdoor seating, greenery) – and a new quay balcony has been created at Munkbrohamnen.
- The possibility has been created for fossil-free trucks over 3.5 tonnes to be used off-peak.
- The concept ”Samla stan” (Consolidating the City) established: framework agreements for joint transport procurements with requirements for electric drive between property owners and business owners.
A study shows that the street development project within STOLT in Stockholm's inner city has had a very positive impact on both city life, the local economy and property values.
Examples of clear effects:
- Doubled housing prices
- Higher turnover
- 50 per cent more visits
This study helps us move from assumptions to facts. It shows that when we develop the street space for people, we do not only create a better city life – we also create concrete value for the local business community. This holistic understanding is crucial for more actors to be able to rally around and scale this type of transition.
Martina Arnell
The Transport Department, City of Stockholm
In just one year, STOLT has grown into a vibrant arena for collaboration and innovation. We are already seeing how new solutions are tested in reality, and how learning and scaling have become a natural part of the work.
Lars Strömgren
Vice Mayor for Transport, City of Stockholm
Off-peak deliveries – From pilot to Swedish legislation
Moving heavy goods deliveries to nights and early mornings (off-peak) reduces urban congestion and makes transport faster and quieter. What began as local pilot projects under CLOSER's leadership has resulted in actual change, with regulations now being adapted to make off-peak deliveries a natural part of the modern city.
Electrification of vehicles enables night-time deliveries as noise levels decrease. Transport operators improve their delivery precision when delivering goods off-peak, and transport time can be reduced by up to 40 per cent when a distribution truck delivers during the least congested hours of the day. For the city, there are also positive effects as the number of trucks circulating and causing congestion on city streets is reduced.
CLOSER and the HITS project have contributed to new legislation for quiet night-time traffic
The Swedish Government decided on an amendment to the Road Traffic Regulation that enables municipalities to grant exemptions from the ban on heavy truck traffic in noise-sensitive built-up areas, provided that the vehicles lack an internal combustion engine. The rule change, which CLOSER and the HITS project helped pave the way for, came into effect on 1 December 2025.
"This is truly a concrete example of how important our work with system demonstrations is and how results and insights contribute to policy change that impacts society on a large scale. The insights from HITS have been a vital piece of the puzzle in the work towards a legislative change, creating the conditions for fossil-free off-peak transport to become the new normal more quickly," says a proud Isabella Sahlbom.
The work to refine fossil-free off-peak deliveries continues in HITS and STOLT during 2026.
Longer trucks: More goods, fewer vehicles
Smart, longer and heavier vehicles are key to optimizing load capacity. By fitting more goods per transport, we reduce the number of trucks on the roads – which in turn lowers emissions, reduces congestion and addresses the industry's acute driver shortage. For more than a decade, CLOSER has led national efforts on High Capacity Transport (HCT), work that is now redrawing the map for Swedish logistics.
From forest roads to national legislation
The seed for the HCT program was sown back in 2006 by Skogsforsk to streamline timber transport. But taking the concept from forest roads to a national system shift required a neutral arena capable of bringing the entire system together.
In 2011, CLOSER stepped in to lead and coordinate the work, on the initiative of the Swedish Transport Administration. Gathered around the table were competitors and partners such as Volvo, Scania, and Schenker, alongside academia. By facilitating an open dialogue driven by shared goals for the environment and road safety rather than short-term economics, an innovation environment was created that has delivered historic results.
Leveraging innovation capital
The HCT program is a clear example of how a relatively small, but continuous, base funding within CLOSER can create a far-reaching impact. Together with actors such as the Swedish Transport Administration, Vinnova and the Swedish Energy Agency, the program has served as a springboard for scaling up. By 2023, over 40 related HCT projects had been carried out in Sweden with project grants of approximately SEK 130 million (with total project budgets being even larger). It is collaboration that yields true leverage.
Key milestones and system impact
Rigorous work on technology, safety and infrastructure has convinced decision-makers and made a concrete impact on legislation:
- 2018: A new bearing capacity class (BK4) is introduced on Swedish roads, allowing vehicle combinations of up to 74 tonnes.
- 2020: 20 per cent of the Swedish road network has been opened to BK4. That same year, the EU's Mobility Strategy opens the door for longer, zero-emission trucks.
- 2023 (September): The Swedish Transport Agency updates its vehicle requirements, giving road authorities the tools to permit longer vehicles.
- 2023 (December): A historic decision becomes reality – 34.5-metre long trucks are now permitted on selected parts of the Swedish road network.
- 2025: Passed the milestone of half the national road network being classified as BK4, allowing vehicle combinations of up to 74 tonnes.
The Nordic region's most important meeting place for HCT
Knowledge development continues. As a central part of driving the agenda forward, CLOSER annually organizes The Nordic HCT Conference. The conference has grown into one of CLOSERs and Lindholmen Science Parks all-time most well-attended events, gathering experts from across the industry
CLOSER plays an important role in the development of heavy and long transport. They have the coordination capability, act as a neutral platform for collaboration, and ensure that project results are shared and built upon.
Lena Larsson
Project Manager and HCT expert, Volvo Trucks Technology
Shipping
CLOSER leads the work towards more transport-efficient and sustainable shipping by driving collaborative projects that digitize logistics flows and accelerate the green transition within the Swedish maritime sector.
Current shipping projects at CLOSER
Cargo Express
H2Derivatives@BSP
Industry consensus on regulatory changes:
During a major workshop in the spring of 2026, CLOSER and Cargo Express successfully brought together shipping companies and freight forwarders to identify the regulatory and economic barriers that must be eliminated.
Ready for transformation
The breakthrough shows that the shipping industry is now fully united and ready to renew its business models, where "Regulations, support, and policy" has been identified as the most critical area to transform together with decision-makers.
Through the project, we have established close collaboration with research partners. We have built up a knowledge base on which energy sources are worth investing in. This has given us answers regarding what is truly required to invest in and properly develop the infrastructure.
Patrick Mattsson
CEO, Kvarken Ports Umeå
Do you want to know more?
Please feel free to contact any of us or read more via the links below.
Anna Kristiansson
Caroline Karlsson
Fizah Wasti
