Autonomous driving company is expanding to Berlin’s Tegel Airport

EasyMile will create a second Berlin office in the Urban Tech Republic that occupies the closed airport

Today, EasyMile, one of the first companies to offer complete autonomous mobility solutions announced their expansion to the site of Berlin’s former Tegel Airport, now, called the Urban Tech Republic. EasyMile is an industry leader when it comes to complete autonomous driving solutions.

During the expansion to Tegel Airport, the company plans to create a research centre as well a maintenance garage.

The new location will be an addition to its Mitte office, which opened in 2017 and it hopes to meet the growing demand for vehicles, as well as the research demands for optimising them for any weather conditions.

They began operations in 2014 and since then have completed multiple projects that deliver on the promise of autonomous vehicles. They have completed projects in more than 300 locations in more than 30 countries. Those include multiple projects in France, Brussels and Germany.

The company is one of the first to provide level 4 autonomous driving, meaning that vehicles do not need any human interaction to operate.

EasyMile shuttles in the garage, Source: EasyMile GmbH

Fitting right in

In the recent decade or so Berlin has radically shifted its air travel policy within the city. The two main airports servicing the German capital were Tegel and Templehof, both located within a couple of kilometres of the city centre and well within residential limits.

Templehof, though, was closed in 2008 and in 2009 the runways were reopened as a massive park. It has also served as a refugee camp and most recently, local authorities announced a project to turn it into a massive cultural hub.

Since Tegel Airport closed down in 2020, the local administration has announced the creation of the Urban Tech Republic. The project aims to find a multitude of new uses for the freed-up space. For example, there is a proposed residential neighbourhood, called the Schumacher Quarter.

However, the more exciting point in the Urban Tech Republic’s itinerary is the industrial R&D park where 1,000 small to large companies are supposed to move in, together with their 20,000 employees. Furthermore, there are an additional 5,000 students from the University of Applied Sciences should also occupy part of the Tegel campus.

This is an atmosphere where EasyMile will fit right in, as the new development should help to accelerate cooperation between the companies. Most of the new occupants of the Urban Tech Republic are supposed to have a similar background in sustainable development, mobility, energy efficiency and new materials.