WP1- State-of-Play – provides the knowledge base and gives direction for the further work in the PROMINENT project. It analyses promising greening technologies and concepts and match-makes them with the characteristics of the European inland fleet in order to identify those concepts with the biggest potential greening impact.
More in detail, the objectives are:
In a first step, groups of comparable vessels (“fleet families”) and their operational profiles (characteristics of the trips) on the main European inland waterways and canals are identified, as well as their cost structures are analyzed. The typical vessel classes and operational profiles for the European fleet as well as the basic cost data identified will be a major input for the work to be done with respect to the evaluation and selection of proper greening technologies and concepts. In the second step, the best greening technologies and concepts to raise energy efficiency and lower emissions will be assessed regarding their effects, range of impact and their availability for the most relevant European fleet families identified. This will be done oriented on comparable criteria that are also elaborated in WP1. This assessment will allow conclusions on the best available technologies for greening the majority of the European IWT fleet in the short term and their selection for further elaboration within the project. The technologies identified are expected to have strong advantageous effects on the inland waterway transport (IWT) sector. Nevertheless, they are not automatically taken up by market players as it was shown in the past. Therefore, the activities of WP1 are completed by an investigation with the aim to identify the reasons for this fact as well as measures to overcome them.
WP1 serves as basis for WP2 (advanced concepts for mass introduction), WP3 (certification, monitoring and enforcement), WP4 (digital education tools) and WP6 (roll-out plan).
Involvement of stakeholders includes consultation of the Advisory Board, presentation of project results in expert groups, as well as interviews with representatives of the shipping industry (users and producers), which will verify the results regarding the fleet families and operational profiles, the selection of the greening technologies and concepts, as well as the assessment of technology-specific barriers and facilitating factors. Further, a strong cooperation is realized with existing projects, e.g. PLATINA II, where already a strong stakeholder input was considered in the project results to be used further in PROMINENT.
For additional information, please contact:
Juha Schweighofer
Via Donau Österreichische Wasserstrassen-Gesellschaft Mbh
Juha.schweighofer@viadonau.org
Tel: +43 50 4321-1624