fehrl

Name

fehrl

Legal name

Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories

Website

https://fehrl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transport Infrastructure Research Coordination

NAICS

Support Activities for Transportation (488)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAIAC

Transportation & Traffic Engineering Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Engineering & Technical Consulting

SECONDARYBPADANAK

Transport Safety & Infrastructure Standards Cooperation

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

Keywords

• Road infrastructure research
• Transport research coordination
• Highway research laboratories
• Infrastructure knowledge transfer
• Mobility research networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: FEHRL operates as a membership-based association funded by annual contributions from member institutes, which are national road research laboratories and technical institutes from across Europe. This forms the core operational funding for the organization.
2. European Research Project Funding: FEHRL receives substantial funding through participation in European Commission framework programmes and CEDR (Conference of European Directors of Road) projects. The organization coordinates and manages research projects funded by these bodies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

FEHRL coordinates collaborative transport infrastructure research across its network of more than 30 European national highway research laboratories and global associates. It provides project coordination for EU framework programme and CEDR-funded research, knowledge transfer through the FIRM magazine and biennial conferences, searchable databases of projects, partners, and facilities, International Project Management training, international Scanning Tours, and dissemination management services for European research projects.

Product overview

FEHRL (Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories) is a research coordination organization, not a traditional software product company. Its offerings consist of knowledge transfer and coordination services: the FIRM (FEHRL Infrastructure Research Magazine) publication and FIRM Meetings conference series for disseminating research; International Project Management training courses; Scanning Tours for international knowledge exchange; and Dissemination Manager services for project coordination. Additionally, FEHRL operates three searchable databases (Projects, Partners, and Facilities) covering transport infrastructure research across Europe. The organization also manages specialized initiatives including IENE for biodiversity and infrastructure, the FORx4 cross-modal research programme, and the TRA VISIONS research competition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FOREX/Forever Open Road Programme: Forever Open Road is FEHRL's flagship programme for the past decade, providing a vision of how roads of the future should be developed, expanding to cross-modal infrastructure (road, rail, river, runway)
• FORx4
• IENE
• FIRM

Products and services

• FEHRL Infrastructure Research Magazine (FIRM) Semi-annual publication covering FEHRL cooperative research activities, project results, and industry developments; distributed to over 2,000 key road and infrastructure stakeholders.
• FIRM Meetings (Conference Series) Biennial international conferences plus regional FIRM events presenting FEHRL cooperative research activities and facilitating knowledge transfer among researchers, end-users, and stakeholders.
• International Project Management (IPM) Training Training courses for FEHRL member-institute staff and partners covering proposal development, consortium building, project administration, dissemination/exploitation of results, stakeholder communication, and risk management under HORIZON EUROPE rules.
• Scanning Tours Coordinated international knowledge exchange tours to USA, Asia, and Europe covering resilience to climate change, automation, electrification, and energy efficiency in highways; built in partnership with FHWA, ARRB, and others.
• Dissemination Manager Services Professional dissemination management service for European research projects covering visual identity development, publications coordination, newsletters, project websites, and social media presence.
• Projects and Programmes Database Searchable database of transport infrastructure projects and programmes filterable by type, European framework programme, area of interest, and partners; 331+ entries spanning current and finished projects.
• Partners Database Searchable partner directory of 321 organizations including industry partners, research institutions, and government bodies for transport infrastructure project collaboration.
• Facilities Database Searchable directory of 344 transport infrastructure research facilities filterable by type and partner, covering surface characteristics, noise measurements, ITS, geotechnical testing, and environmental tests.
• IENE (Infrastructure Ecology Network Europe) Network promoting biodiversity and transport infrastructure integration through conferences, working groups, and the 'Biodiversity & Infrastructure: a handbook for action' resource; 400+ members including researchers, engineers, decision-makers, and infrastructure operators.
• FORx4 Cross-Modal Research Programme Cross-modal research initiative covering Forever Open Road, Rail, River, and Runway infrastructure research, reflecting FEHRL's evolution from highway research to broader infrastructure partnership.
• TRA VISIONS Competition European competition showcasing cutting-edge transport research with Young Researcher and Senior Researcher competitions across five transport mode categories, co-organized with the Transport Research Arena.

Quantifiable outcome

• 331+ research projects coordinated
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey stakeholder and primary funding source through EU framework programmes. FEHRL coordinates and manages projects funded by the European Commission and provides input to European transport research policy.
• CEDR (Conference of European Directors of Road)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean-level body representing national road directors. CEDR provides funding and strategic direction for road research, working closely with FEHRL on project calls and research coordination.
• ERTRAC (European Road Transport Research Advisory Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean technology platform for road transport research. FEHRL maintains formal liaison with ERTRAC and participates in strategic research planning for European transport.
• ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform bringing together construction industry stakeholders. FEHRL collaborates with ECTP on research initiatives and external partners for working groups.
• FHWA (Federal Highway Administration)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS Federal Highway Administration's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center represents the USA within FEHRL. Cooperates on scanning tours and international knowledge exchange on highway research since 2010.
• PIARC (World Road Association)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational road transport organization with significant governmental influence. FEHRL maintains relationships with PIARC for knowledge exchange and international collaboration.
• EUPAVE (European Concrete Pavement Association)supportingTechnology or IntegrationIndustry association for concrete pavements. Collaborates with FEHRL working groups on specific technical topics and practical implementation of research.
• CCAM PartnershipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility partnership. FEHRL participates in CCAM research initiatives addressing infrastructure readiness for automated vehicles.
• 2ZERO PartnershipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean partnership for zero-emission road transport. FEHRL contributes research expertise on infrastructure aspects of decarbonization and electrification.
• ARRB (Australian Road Research Board)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian road research organization that served as Programme Manager for FEHRL's Asian Scanning Tour together with FEHRL in 2016.
• IENE (Infrastructure Ecology Network Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork for biodiversity and transport infrastructure. IENE was established in 1996 and reactivated in 2009. FEHRL runs the IENE Executive Secretariat following a MoU signed in 2024. IENE has 400+ members and organizes biennial international conferences.
• Standards Bodies (CEN, CENELEC, ISO)supportingOthersEuropean and international standardization bodies for products and processes. FEHRL members contribute to standards development relevant to transport infrastructure.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ECTRI (European Conference of Transport Research Institutes): ECTRI is a Brussels-based membership association of European transport research institutes, structurally near-identical to FEHRL but covering all transport modes rather than road-only. It competes for the same EU coordination funding and members.
• FERSI (Forum of European Road Safety Research Institutes): FERSI is a Brussels-based coordination body of European road safety research institutes, sharing FEHRL's membership-association model and Brussels location, but specialising in road safety rather than road infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• TRB (Transportation Research Board, US National Academies): TRB is the world's largest transport research convener, operating under the US National Academies. It shares FEHRL's model of coordinating research across member institutes, scanning tours, and policy advice, but at much greater scale and across all modes.
• PIARC (World Road Association): PIARC is the global apex body for road infrastructure, with government members from over 120 countries. It overlaps with FEHRL on road knowledge dissemination and policy advice, but operates at a worldwide intergovernmental scale.

Emerging players

• ERTRAC (European Road Transport Research Advisory Council): ERTRAC is the EU's road transport technology platform that convenes stakeholders to define research priorities and Strategic Research Agendas. It is both a FEHRL partner and a competing platform for EU road research agenda-setting influence.
• EURNEX (European Rail Research Network of Excellence): EURNEX is a European rail research coordination network with a similar association-of-institutes model to FEHRL. It is the structural equivalent FEHRL is positioning against as it expands into rail under the FORx4 cross-modal programme.

Others

• ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform): ECTP brings together the European construction sector to coordinate R&D and influence EU construction research priorities. It is a formal FEHRL partner and adjacent platform, but focused on construction materials and processes rather than road operations.
• CEDR (Conference of European Directors of Road): CEDR is FEHRL's primary funding and strategic counterpart, composed of European national road directors. It functions both as a funder of FEHRL-coordinated research and as a strategic body setting the research agenda FEHRL executes.
• BASt (Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen): BASt is the German federal highway research institute and a core FEHRL member. As one of the largest national road research institutes in Europe, it both funds FEHRL via membership and operates as a peer-level national research organisation.

Regional players

• ARRB (Australian Road Research Board): ARRB is Australia's national road research body and a long-standing FEHRL associate. It is structurally analogous to a single national FEHRL member institute and serves as FEHRL's main gateway to Asia-Pacific knowledge exchange.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fehrlcomms
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@fehrl-5b/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fehrlcomms
• Facebookfacebook.com/fehrlcomms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about fehrl