When innovations remain at the pilot stage  

In 2025, 85% of French freight still moves by road.

Even by tripling the share of rail by 2050, nearly 70% of freight transport will remain road-based.

This is an economic, logistical, and territorial fact. And it is also a symptom of innovation that, despite its ambitions, struggles to translate into operational reality.

The French paradox

For ten years, France has been multiplying initiatives: electrification, biofuels, connected logistics, fleet hybridization… Yet, the results are slow to materialize.

The High Climate Council (Annual Report 2025) emphasized in its 2025 report: the success of decarbonization no longer depends solely on available technologies but on the ability to coordinate public, private, and territorial actors and to effectively manage transformations.

Innovations are here, but they do not take root. They remain at the pilot stage.

The General Directorate of Enterprises shared this observation at the Ambition France Transports conference (July 2025): the transition of road transport remains hindered by a lack of logistical coordination, a deficit of suitable infrastructure, and still fragile economic incentives.

And even when the technology is ready, practices and organizational models don't follow. The Transition Mobilities Institute highlighted in its March 2025 study that the technical potential for decarbonization will only be realized if economic, logistical, and human constraints specific to the field are considered.

In other words, changing fuel is not enough: methods must change.

1. The technological barrier: France is betting on electric solutions but without an integrated vision of usage, charging rhythms, or the associated economic models.

2. The organizational barrier: each player moves independently—transporters, shippers, energy suppliers, local authorities—while the levers of impact lie in coordination.

3. The usage barrier: the reality on the ground (delivery areas, margins, scheduling constraints) is rarely integrated into political and industrial decisions.

The Ministry of Ecological Transition itself notes that several schemes remain stuck at the pilot stage due to a lack of real user adoption.

And if the solution isn't to innovate more, but to innovate differently?

At Aktan, we are convinced that the decarbonization of the road will not come from a technological breakthrough, but from a systemic transformation. This means working with those on the ground, not just for them.

Our approach is based on three principles:

1. Observe usage before acting

Understand how transporters, shippers, and drivers actually work: constraints, routines, room for maneuvering. Our field surveys can identify often invisible efficiency levers—quickly activated.

2. Co-construct solutions

We bring together energy suppliers, transporters, industry, and local authorities to test realistic scenarios: logistical pooling, new fuels, shared infrastructures, hybrid models. This collaborative approach speeds up decisions and strengthens trust among stakeholders.

3. Validate implementation

Innovation is worth nothing if it doesn't take hold. We support scaling: monitoring usage indicators, adapting processes, training teams. Because sustainability isn't imposed, it is practiced.

Towards truly smart mobility

Public reports converge: the success of the transition will not come from a miracle technology, but from the ability to better articulate innovation, governance, and usage. This is precisely what Aktan proposes: a systemic design approach that connects technical innovations to organizational and human transformation.

Conclusion

The road will remain at the heart of goods transport. But its future will not depend on batteries or biofuels. It will depend on our ability to work together, experiment differently, and move innovations from pilot to impact.

📩 Aktan supports public and private actors in transport, energy, and logistics in understanding usage, transforming their processes, and validating their experiments: contact@aktan.fr