Zero Emission Inland Waterways
Powering the Future of the
Inland Waterways
This vessel operator data portal is now open and free to use for vessel operators - no fees, no subscriptions, no catch. During this research the cost will always be £0.00. Access for other Inland Waterway Stakeholders will be granted to view anonymised data only.
VDP at a Glance
The vessel data portal asks you to provide basic vessel data. A form that takes less than 5 minutes to complete for each vessel you would like to load from your fleet. Once the vessel is loaded your dashboard will contain a summary of the vessel relating to energy consumption, fuel burn CO2 emissions as well as a tools that can help you understand your energy consumption and optimisation better.
Graphical Outputs
KPis: Energy, Emissions & Efficiency
Fuel Usage and Costs Insights
Dynamic Duty Cycle Adjustments for Optimisation
Operational Speed and Time Impact Simulation
About the Initiative
This initiative is about bridging the gap between ambition and reality when it comes to decarbonising inland waterway transport. While zero-emission technologies are advancing, the lack of reliable, high-resolution data on vessel operations remains a major barrier to designing effective infrastructure. By creating a collaborative data portal, this project invites vessel operators and industry stakeholders to contribute directly to a shared understanding of how energy is used across rivers like the Thames, Danube, and Rhine. The goal is to turn fragmented, hard-to-access information into actionable insights — enabling smarter infrastructure planning, better policy decisions, and real-world progress toward cleaner inland shipping.
The portal will allow vessel operators and stakeholders to securely submit technical and operational data, including vessel specifications, engine details, fuel types, and journey patterns. This real-world data will form the foundation of the research — helping to build a clear, evidence-based picture of energy demand across Europe’s inland waterways.
Data Collection
Analysis Engine
Once collected, the data will feed into a modelling framework that estimates energy consumption, identifies patterns in duty cycles, and explores how vessel operations vary by route, season, and vessel type. This analysis is key to understanding how, where, and when clean energy will be needed — forming the backbone of realistic decarbonisation scenarios.
Infrastructure Planning
Using the insights generated by the analysis engine, the project will explore dynamic and flexible approaches to delivering energy — from dynamic charging to optimised fixed infrastructure. The goal is to develop scalable, data-driven infrastructure planning tools that match real-world vessel behaviour and enable meaningful emissions reduction across the inland waterway sector.
Why Participate?
By taking part in this initiative, you have the opportunity to shape how clean energy infrastructure is planned and delivered across inland waterways. Your data helps ensure that future systems reflect the real needs of vessel operators — not assumptions. It’s also a chance to connect with a collaborative network working toward practical, zero-emission solutions, while demonstrating leadership in sustainable transport.
Benefits of participating include:
Influencing infrastructure development based on real operational data
Joining a growing network of like-minded operators and researchers
Benchmarking performance against anonymised peer data
Gaining early access to insights and analysis
Strengthening your sustainability credentials
Staying ahead of regulatory and market changes
Contributing to a cleaner, more resilient future for inland shipping
If you’re ready to help shape the future, we’d love to hear from you.
Your operational insights can directly shape how future energy systems are planned and deployed along inland waterways. By contributing data, you help ensure that investment in infrastructure — whether fixed or mobile — is guided by real-world vessel behaviour, not assumptions.
Influence Infrastructure Development
Join a Collaborative Network
Be part of a growing community of vessel operators, engineers, researchers, and policymakers working together to solve one of the sector’s biggest challenges. This is a chance to share knowledge, inform best practices, and drive progress through collective effort.
Demonstrate Sustainable Leadership
Show that your business is not just ready for the future — it’s helping to shape it. Participation signals a proactive commitment to decarbonisation, innovation, and environmental responsibility within a sector that urgently needs credible, workable solutions.
What Collaborators are Saying
Hear from vessel operators and stakeholders who are already engaged with our initiative