Project description
Solutions that drive inland waterway transport
Exploiting inland waterway transportation (IWT) is an essential ingredient to reach the European Commissions’ targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in the upcoming decades. Especially in dense urban areas, today’s road and rail networks, which also accommodate passenger transport, have already reached their capacity limits. In this regard, IWT not only represents an environmentally friendly but an economically advantageous alternative. The vision of the EU-funded IW-NET project is to create an 'Innovation-driven Collaborative European Inland Waterways Transport Network' by following a holistic approach that not only covers digitalisation and multimodal integration in IWT but provides organisational and technological solutions for improved infrastructure management as well as for the next generation of green and innovative vessels.
Objective
IW-NET will deliver a multimodal optimisation process across the EU Transport System, increasing the modal share of IWT and supporting the EC’s ambitions to reduce transport GHG emissions by two thirds by 2050. Enablers for sustainable infrastructure management and innovative vessels will support an efficient and competitive IWT sector addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, insufficient IT integration along the chain and slow adoption of technologies such as new vessel types, alternative fuels, automation, IoT, machine learning. The Living Lab will apply user-centered application scenarios in important TEN-T corridors demonstrating and evaluating the impacts in simulations and tests covering technological, organisational, legal, economical, ecological, and safety/security issues:
1) Digitalisation: optimised planning of barge operations serving dense urban areas with predictive demand routing (Brussels-Antwerp-Courtrai-Lille-Valenciennes); data driven optimisation on navigability in uncertain water conditions (Danube).
2) Sustainable Infrastructure and Intelligent Traffic Management: lock forecasting reducing uncertainty in voyage planning; lock planning; management of fairway sections where encounters are prohibited; berth planning with mandatory shore power supply and other services (hinterland of Bremerhaven via Weser/Mittelland Canal).
3) Innovative vessels: new barge designs fitting corridor conditions and target markets: barges with a high degree of automation for urban distribution (East Flanders-Ghent); new barge for push boats capable with low/high water levels optimising capacities (Danube from Austria to Romania); use of GALILEO services for advanced driver assistance like guidance, bridge height warning and automatic lock entering (Spree-Oder waterway close to Berlin).
Accompanying activities are stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and the delivery of a European IWT development roadmap with policy recommendations for increasing the IWT share.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
28359 Bremen
Germany
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Participants (28)
1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
2950 Kapellen
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
76600 Le Havre
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
76600 Le Havre
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
76600 Le Havre
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106 82 ATHINA
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7000 Mons
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
59313 Valenciennes Cedex 9
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50018 Zaragoza
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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4600 Wels
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1210 Wien
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1100 Wien
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
2103 Langenzersdorf
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800211 Galati
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
2000 Antwerpen
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
52048 Monte San Savino (Ar)
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
6393 St. Ulrich Am Pillersee
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51147 Koln
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15745 Wildau
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
12 Dublin
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1017 EM Amsterdam
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3000 Leuven
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9850 Deinze
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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7000 Mons
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
28217 Bremen
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