Curtain up for CROSS-IN

We are pleased to announce that the Cluster Mobility & Logistics is launching a new EU project, CROSS-IN, as the lead partner. On October 9, 2026, the partners met online for the transnational kick-off. The project began on October 1 and will run for two years. The full name says it all: CROSS-border INnovation for Smart Automation in Automotive Production and Mobility.

Six organizations from Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovenia introduced themselves. In addition to us as the lead partner, the group includes Pannon Business Network, JIC Smart Factory, Business Upper Austria, the Primorska Technology Park, and the Deggendorf Institute of Technology. The partners bring expertise ranging from industrial AI and cybersecurity to creative methods for working with regional ecosystems. Angelika van Es from the Joint Secretariat in Vienna shared the program’s perspective on reporting and monitoring.

CROSS-IN builds on five Interreg projects whose results have proven effective in practice: Drive2Transform, Capacity2Transform, CySeReS-KMU, IPMAI, and SINOPES. From Drive2Transform, we bring our Transformation Readiness Index. The partners apply these results to four key areas: automation, robotics, cybersecurity, and the circular economy.

The three work packages include a Readiness Index 2.0 and scenario workshops, training opportunities for companies and support organizations, and a permanent CROSS-IN community featuring expert groups, use cases, and a transnational conference.

The Bavarian Wirtschaftsministerium has also highlighted the project’s launch. In a press release dated October 6, 2026, it presented CROSS-IN as one of five new Interreg Central Europe projects involving Bavarian participation (see press release).

The next steps have been finalized: Starting October 16, we will hold regular project calls, and in December 2026, we will welcome our partners to our first in-person meeting in Regensburg.

CROSS-IN is co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE program.

Project partners

Involved in the project are:

• Clusters Mobility & Logistics (TechBase Regensburg GmbH) (Germany, lead partner)
• Business Upper Austria – OÖ Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH (Austria)
• Pannon Business Network Association (Hungary)
• JIC, Interest Association of Legal Entities (Czech Republic)
• Primorska Technology Park (Slovenia)
• Technische Hochschule Deggendorf (Germany)