Jun 23, 2026

[Workshop] Autonomous Inland Waterway Vessels: market ready or are there still links missing?

Friday, May 29th, 2026

As Europe accelerates efforts towards zero-emission and digitally connected logistics systems, inland waterways are increasingly seen as a potential contributor to modal shift and sustainable freight transport. Several European project are currently exploring:

Smaller and more flexible inland vessel concepts,
Increasing levels of automation and remote operations,
Better integration of inland waterways into multimodal logistics chains.

However, important questions remain regarding:

Operational deployment,
Infrastructure readiness,
Logistics integration,
Business viability,
The real value these concepts can create compared to road transport.

This joint workshop organised by ALICE together with the Horizon Europe projects FOREMAST, AUTOFLEX and SEAMLESS will provide a discussion space to explore how automated inland vessel concepts could support future inland logistics operations and modal shift.

Rather than focusing purely on technology development, the workshop will bring together logistics stakeholders, operators, ports, technology developers and shippers to discuss:

Under which conditions these concepts could become operationally viable,
What barriers still remain for large-scale deployment,
How automation can integrate into broader inland logistics ecosystems

PRELIMINARY AGENDA

Welcome and workshop objectives. Nik Delmeire (ALICE)
What do we mean by automated vessels?.
Project insights – FOREMAST, AUTOFLEX & SEAMLESS.
- FOREMAST. SFAZ Vessels
- AUTOFLEX . Remote Operations and Operational Automation in Inland Navigation
- SEAMLESS. Logistics Integration and Digital Coordination for Inland Waterways
Market perspective: Logistics needs. DUISPORT and Elvina Nowak (ALICE)
Live poll and warm-up. Nik Delmeire (ALICE)
Stakeholder panel discussion. Panelists – To be confirmed
- GRUBER Logistics
- DST
- DUISPORT
- DFDS and a shipper
Wrap-up and next steps. Nik Delmeire (ALICE)

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The recorded session videos and presentations are available in the ALICE Knowledge Platform Corridors, Hubs and Synchromodality event page:

SEAMLESS is funded by the European Union under grant agreement number 101096923. FOREMAST has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101138261. AUTOFLEX has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101136257. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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