Where the mobility of the future is being prepared, at TU Ilmenau’s Thuringian Center for Innovation in Mobility (ThIMo) , representatives of the university and the City of Ilmenau welcomed the Thuringian Minister for Digital and Infrastructure (TMDI), Steffen Schütz, and his State Secretary, Milen Starke, on 4 August 2025. As part of their summer tour under the motto "You decide where it goes", they were informed about the current considerations to transfer automated and connected driving to regular operation in Thuringia.
The focus of the discussions with ThIMo Director Prof. Matthias Hein, Ilmenau’s Lord Mayor Dr. Daniel Schultheiß and Sarah Höring, Managing Director of IOV Omnibusverkehr Gmbh Ilmenau: innovative technologies and concepts for safe, climate-friendly, automated and connected vehicles that are unique in Thuringia, as well as sustainable and socially just mobility solutions for rural areas.
During a test drive with the P:Mover research vehicle, which is highly automated according to Level 4, in a challenging inner-city operating area and demonstrations of the digital road infrastructure in the Ilmenau real-world laboratory and the Ilmenau bus station mobility station, Steffen Schütz and Milen Starke were able to experience first-hand that Thuringian mobility, as described in the Free State’s mission statement, is not only efficient but also well-connected.
said the Minister following his visit.
With the automated "P:Mover", ThIMo and its R&D partners have optimally prepared Thuringia for a nationwide model region for autonomous driving. Our support is certain
The project is the focus of an entire project family in which ThIMo is developing innovative mobility solutions for rural areas together with the city, the Ilm district and other Thuringian stakeholders from science, business, associations and other municipalities. Prof. Hein:
Thuringia offers the best starting capital for transferring our experience in research and real-world laboratories into practical applications for automated and connected driving. With a determined state government, we can achieve a great deal. Today better than ever.
The Thuringian Mobility Network (TMDI) is currently running a flagship project in which three Thuringian universities, the TU Ilmenau, the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Bauhaus University Weimar, are working together to develop concepts for mobility stations at transfer hubs of the ITF Thuringia integrated interval timetable in rural areas. At a presentation of the project, the Minister and State Secretary were able to gain an impression of how practical and user-friendly conversion into mobility stations is possible even at stops with little infrastructure, making it more appealing to switch from car to bus - perhaps soon even without a driver.
"Mobility in all’its facets has always played an important role in Ilmenau. In addition to the traditional public transport services, we have been able to add two further components this year in the form of the citizen bus and car-sharing stations to make everyday life easier for our citizens," said Ilmenau’s lord mayor Daniel Schultheiß:
But what sets the Ilmenau region apart beyond these various practical applications is the enormous commitment of the Technical University to researching the mobility of the future.
