Einride breaks barriers with world’s first cabless autonomous border crossing

A few years ago, I attended a hackathon with a difference: a policy hackathon. One of the most interesting outcomes was a policy to cover border crossings for autonomous vehicles, and now it's become more relevant than ever as today mobility technology company Einride, provider of digital, electric and autonomous solutions for road freight, announced a historic milestone: the successful cross-border operation of a cabless electric autonomous vehicle without a human driver onboard. 

The autonomous border-crossing took place at the Ørje border crossing, and marks the world-first cabless electric autonomous crossing of a country's border. Autonomous cross-border vehicle operations are challenging due to differing national regulations as well as technical barriers such as inconsistent road signage, and customs procedures.

This significant achievement represents a major leap forward for autonomous cross-border operations, building on Einride's extensive background in industrial freight.

Tolletaten, the Norwegian Customs, is supporting the initiative due to the high relevance of automating this use case for their future operations. 

To address the complexities of international border crossings and handle tasks typically managed by a human driver, Einride integrated its systems with Norway’s digital customs solution (Digitoll) through its partner Q-Free, digitally declaring goods in advance to create a seamless border customs clearance process.

Einride showcased the broader capabilities of its electric autonomous technology through the seamless integration of its advanced hardware and software. This included the Einride Driver (the company’s proprietary Autonomous Drive Stack), its purpose-built cabless autonomous vehicle, and a Control Tower (an intelligent platform for fleet management and oversight), highlighting how the technology can improve safety, efficiency, and sustainability in road freight.

This world-first cabless electric autonomous border-crossing demonstration is a key component of the EU co-founded MODI project. The MODI project aims to enable the safe roll-out of heavy-duty autonomous transportation across a wide variety of market applications, improving the transport and logistics industry by accelerating the introduction of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) solutions.

"We are immensely proud to have completed the world's first cabless, electric, fully autonomous cross-border delivery," said Henrik Green, CTO and General Manager for Einride Autonomous Technologies. 

"We are dedicated to continuously extending our capabilities into new applications, showcasing how autonomous technology can enhance transportation safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The MODI project perfectly embodies this commitment, assisting in the realisation of EU value-based objectives by thoughtfully balancing safety with innovation."

The autonomous border crossing is a joint effort between Swedish and Norwegian project partners, including Statens Vegvesen, SINTEF, Q-Free, Trafikverket, and Østfold kommune, conducted on behalf of PostNord, which annually ships nearly 200 million parcels across the Nordic region.

“At PostNord, we are committed to exploring innovative solutions that make logistics more sustainable and efficient. Taking part in this historic milestone with Einride demonstrates how autonomous and digital technologies can reshape the future of transport, reduce emissions, and improve safety. This achievement is not just about crossing a border – it’s about entering a new era for the logistics industry”, said May-Kristin S. Willoch, Head of Environment & DPO, PostNord Norway.