Freight vOlumes transfer from Road to waterborne transport, using zero-EMission, Automated, Small and flexible vessel protoTypes

Project Information

FOREMAST

Grant agreement ID: 101138261

DOI

10.3030/101138261

EC signature date 21 November 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 981 706,25

EU contribution

€ 4 981 706,25

Coordinated by

INLECOM GROUP
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FOREMAST (Freight vOlumes transfer from Road to waterborne transport, using zero-EMission, Automated, Small and flexible vessel protoTypes)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Waterborne transport, particularly inland waterway transport (IWT) and coastal shipping, offers a sustainable alternative to congested road networks, especially in urban areas. However, the sector faces major challenges: the aging fleet, the decline of small vessels due to high costs and limited technological renewal, insufficient policy incentives hindering fleet modernization, and the minimization of available crews. At the same time, automation and autonomy offer opportunities for efficiency and reduced crewing needs, yet require careful consideration of human–autonomy interaction, safety in mixed traffic, and regulatory adaptation. Environmental pressures and the continuously changing legislation add further urgency, underlining the need for electrification, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuels, and advanced energy management solutions.
Against this background, FOREMAST aims to develop small, flexible, automated and zero emission (SFAZ) vessels for inland and coastal environments, supporting the modal shift of cargo to waterways while enabling fleet renewal through retrofitting and innovative propulsion. By advancing automation technologies, promoting zero-emission energy systems, and contributing to regulatory evolution, the project seeks lower barriers for stakeholders, ensuring safe and sustainable integration of automated vessels into logistics chains.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Major achievements include a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of SFAZ vessel deployment (WP1), the development of novel Class I vessel designs and digital simulation tools (WP2), and the initiation of three Living Labs (WP3) that retrofit and test SFAZ vessels in Belgium and France, while providing insights for a potential new vessel design in the latter case, and simulate a new virtual vessel in Romania. Innovation outcomes delivered so far span from a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) tool for economic and environmental viability, to an agent-based simulation model integrating real network data for modal shift analysis, to prototype vessel hull designs and control systems.. Each WP’s work has been executed in line with its objectives, combining to raise key results from initial research (TRL 3) toward demonstrated solutions (TRL 5-6).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project has already delivered results by identifying market opportunities, demonstrating that SFAZ vessels are technically and economically viable, with new vessel designs, validated automation and control systems, zero-emission propulsion solutions, while exploring new business models for urban logistics.
To ensure further uptake and long-term success, the project has prepared next steps focused on large-scale pilots in real logistics environments, refining business models for deployment. In addition, international transferability will be explored in waterways facing similar challenges, taking into account the regulatory and standardisation frameworks to support the acceleration towards the integration of autonomous and zero-emission vessels into existing transport systems.