Q-Free secures major national AutoPASS contract in Norway

Q-Free has been awarded a major new contract by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) to deploy its Intrada Insight solution across Norway’s tolling network.

The system will underpin the country’s nationwide license plate recognition service (LPRS) for AutoPASS, the electronic tolling program that processes hundreds of millions of vehicle passages each year.

The multi-year agreement follows a competitive international tender and reinforces Q-Free’s long-standing partnership with NPRA. The project covers both automated recognition and manual image review of all toll passage images, representing more than 760 million images and 400 million transactions annually across the country.

“This project is a powerful endorsement of our technology, people, and commitment to excellence,” said Q-Free CEO Mark Talbot. “Norway’s environmental conditions present some of the harshest operational challenges anywhere in the world – from snow and glare to lengthy periods of darkness – yet our systems continue to deliver exceptional accuracy and reliability.”

Q-Free’s technology is required to maintain a 98% automation rate and recently achieved 99.29% performance in demanding winter conditions.

The company’s Intrada Insight platform leverages adaptive AI and machine learning to recognize license plates from across Europe and beyond. By converting video-based passages into billable vehicle data, the system reduces the need for manual image review and lowers operational costs while meeting stringent national and EU data protection standards, including GDPR compliance.

Norway’s tolling network operates across diverse landscapes, from dense cities to Arctic highways, making reliability and precision critical. The NPRA’s technical requirements are widely viewed as among the toughest in the world, demanding consistent performance in all weather and lighting conditions.

The new framework contract extends Q-Free’s collaboration with the NPRA for an initial four-year term, with potential extensions up to seven years. For Q-Free, the award not only represents continued trust from Norway’s road authorities but also sets a new global benchmark for automated tolling accuracy and efficiency.

“NPRA consistently challenges the market to innovate,” added Talbot. “Its rigorous procurement and performance requirements raise the bar for the entire industry. We’re proud to help set that bar higher.”