SOCIETE NATIONALE DES CHEMINS DE FER BELGES

Their core work

SNCB (also known as NMBS) is Belgium's national railway company, responsible for operating the country's entire passenger rail network and contributing to intermodal freight logistics. In EU research projects, they participate as a large-scale industrial end-user and real-world testbed — bringing access to operational rail infrastructure, passenger volumes, and logistics data that academic or SME partners cannot replicate. Their project work spans sustainable transport planning and decarbonization of transport infrastructure, where they contribute operational knowledge of emissions, energy consumption, and multimodal connectivity. As a regulated public-interest operator with a mandate to decarbonize, they are motivated partners for projects that need to demonstrate impact at national infrastructure scale.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earliest H2020 participation (PORTIS, 2016–2020), SNCB engaged with broader urban and port sustainability planning — no specific technology keywords were recorded, suggesting a generalist transport operator role in a multi-sector project. By their second project (STARGATE, 2021–2026), the focus sharpened dramatically: greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen, electric vehicles, digital twins, and sustainable aviation fuels appear as explicit themes. This shift reflects the broader EU transport sector's move from integrated planning toward active decarbonization technology deployment. SNCB appears to be following — and contributing to — that transition from systems thinking to emissions-reduction engineering.

SNCB is moving toward active engagement with decarbonization technologies — hydrogen, electric vehicles, and digital infrastructure monitoring — positioning itself as an implementation testbed for zero-emission transport systems.

How they like to work

SNCB has never led an H2020 project, always joining as a consortium participant — consistent with a large infrastructure operator that contributes operational capacity and real-world validation rather than research leadership. Their two projects together brought in 59 unique partners across 14 countries, indicating involvement in large, complex consortia where they likely serve as an industry anchor rather than a technical driver. For prospective partners, this means SNCB is a credible end-user and demonstration host, but unlikely to initiate or coordinate a consortium.

SNCB has collaborated with 59 unique partners across 14 countries through just two projects, indicating participation in large, diverse European consortia. Their network spans well beyond Belgium, reflecting the cross-border nature of transport infrastructure research.

What sets them apart

SNCB offers something rare in transport research consortia: direct access to a national-scale, live railway network with real passenger and freight flows, operational emissions data, and regulatory accountability for decarbonization. Unlike universities or technology SMEs, they can validate research outcomes under genuine operational conditions — which is exactly what Innovation Action (IA) projects require to demonstrate real-world impact. For any project targeting transport decarbonization, multimodal logistics, or smart infrastructure in Belgium or the broader North Sea region, SNCB adds industrial credibility and deployment potential that strengthens Horizon funding applications.

Highlights from their portfolio

• STARGATE
  SNCB's largest project by far (€609,744 EC funding, running through 2026), covering an unusually broad technology mix — hydrogen, electric vehicles, digital twins, sustainable aviation fuels, and green logistics — making it a strong signal of where SNCB's decarbonization interests are focused.
• PORTIS
  SNCB's first H2020 project, establishing their presence in the port-city sustainability space and demonstrating early interest in integrated multimodal transport planning beyond rail alone.