ROADEF Conference 2026: IMT Atlantique represent DECARBOMILE project in Tours

Optimising cargo-bike routes across slopes and loads: a mathematical challenge in the service of sustainable urban logistics.

From 24 to 26 February 2026, the city of Tours, France, hosted ROADEF, the flagship conference of the French community for operational research and decision support (Société Française de Recherche Opérationnelle et d’Aide à la Décision). The IMT Atlantique team from the Nantes Digital Sciences Laboratory (LS2N – Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes) represented well the DECARBOMILE project, bringing fresh research to one of the field’s most important annual gatherings.

Among the standout presentations of those three days, LS2N has presented the work carried out in partnership with DECARBOMILE, drew considerable interest. LS2N’s research concentrates on improving route planning for cycle logistics, that is, deliveries made by electric cargo bikes, which are playing an increasingly central role in last-mile distribution.

Unlike conventional motorised vehicles, cargo bikes are highly sensitive to both topography and payload. A modest hill tackled at full load can significantly extend delivery time and drain either the rider, or the electric battery. Ignoring these factors in optimisation models leads to unrealistic schedules and cascading delays on the ground. Integrating physical parameters (such as topographic data and load constraints), allows the researchers to generate models for planning realistic routes that are optimal in terms of distance, effort made, and travel time.

This cooperation of academic partners in Horizon Europe projects is a perfect illustration of the IMT Atlantique team’s mission: grounding operational research in concrete, real-world challenges, in service of a more efficient and sustainable urban mobility. Cycle logistics is set to play a central role in the cities of tomorrow, and the algorithms will need to rise to the occasion.