Deadline: 20-Apr-23
The European Commission (EC) has announced the proposals for Developing small, flexible, zero-emission and automated vessels to support shifting cargo from road to sustainable Waterborne Transport.
Scope
- Waterborne transport can transfer large freight volumes from road and as a result reduce emissions and decongest road infrastructure. There are large opportunities to increase waterborne freight, especially in coastal and inland or congested urban regions. This potential is particularly underdeveloped within smaller waterways, lakes, estuaries and intra urban regions and with the use of less developed ports which are not accessible for larger vessels.
- Whilst projects addressing coastal transport and metropolitan inland waterway transport, including new autonomous waterborne feeder loop logistic services are underway, these remain at an early stage or are tailored to specific use cases which cannot be widely deployed.
Funding Information
The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).
Expected Outcomes
Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Development and validation of a small zero-emission automated vessel concept which can support shifting cargo from road to water. The concept will take into account cargo types and navigation conditions (e.g. small waterways, bridges, locks and shallow coastal waters and estuaries).
- Quantification and assessment of the reduced costs and emissions and stronger intra- and intermodal competitiveness of waterborne transport through integration of zero emission propulsion of automated vessels and transhipment into automated transport chains, internet of things and possibly urban logistics.
- Development of business models that benefit from a high degree of automation digitalisation, considering technical, safety, security and organisational aspects and when relevant smart on demand services.
Eligibility Criteria
- To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.
- To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions,
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States,
- countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- the following low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit European Commission.