INGENIERIA Y ECONOMIA DEL TRANSPORTE SME MP SA

Their core work

INECO is Spain's leading public transport engineering and consultancy firm, providing technical expertise in air traffic management (ATM), railway signaling, and unmanned aviation systems. They serve as a key technical contributor to Europe's SESAR programme, working on everything from runway throughput optimization to drone integration in controlled airspace. Their core strength lies in testing, validation, and system architecture for transport infrastructure — translating regulatory requirements into operational solutions for airports, railways, and emerging U-space environments.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), INECO focused on satellite-based railway signaling (GNSS, ERTMS, train positioning via STARS and ERSAT GGC) alongside foundational SESAR work on airport throughput, routing, and separation management. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward unmanned aviation — U-space demand and capacity optimization, drone integration in controlled airspace, and urban air mobility demonstrations. The testing and validation expertise remained constant throughout, but the application domain evolved from traditional rail and ATM toward the emerging drone and urban air mobility ecosystem.

INECO is positioning itself as a bridge between traditional air traffic management and the new unmanned/urban air mobility domain, making them a strong partner for projects where drone operations must coexist with manned aviation.

How they like to work

INECO operates predominantly as a specialist contributor rather than a consortium leader — coordinating only 2 of 27 projects while participating in 10 and serving as a third party in 15 (mostly SESAR Joint Undertaking projects via ENAIRE, Spain's air navigation provider). Their massive network of 256 partners across 41 countries reflects the large SESAR consortia they belong to rather than deep bilateral relationships. This means they bring institutional knowledge of European ATM infrastructure and are easy to integrate into large multi-partner projects, but potential partners should expect a focused technical contribution rather than project leadership.

With 256 unique consortium partners across 41 countries, INECO has one of the broadest networks in European transport research, built primarily through SESAR Joint Undertaking participation. Their connections span air navigation service providers, airport operators, aerospace manufacturers, and research institutions across virtually all EU member states.

What sets them apart

INECO occupies a rare position at the intersection of three transport domains — conventional ATM, railway signaling, and emerging drone/U-space operations — with testing and validation expertise that transfers across all three. As Spain's national transport engineering firm, they bring regulatory insight and operational realism that pure research organizations cannot match. For consortium builders, their value lies in grounding ambitious concepts in implementable, testable architectures backed by real infrastructure knowledge.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DACUS
  Directly addresses the critical challenge of managing drone traffic demand and capacity in U-space — a regulatory priority with near-term commercial implications.
• TERRA
  One of only two projects INECO coordinated, focused on integrating remotely piloted aircraft into air traffic management — signaling their leadership ambition in RPAS.
• RAILGAP
  Their most recent and highest-funded project (EUR 191,620), combining multi-sensor rail mapping with high-accuracy positioning — bridging their railway and GNSS expertise.