Seawork 2025: The Art of the Possible in IWT Decarbonisation
- Paul Simavari
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
A researcher's perspective on fuel innovations, infrastructure challenges, and collaborative opportunities from Europe's leading marine trade show
Setting the Scene: A Vibrant Showcase of Innovation
Walking into Seawork 2025, the energy was palpable - and the tent was hot (turn up the AC please!). The annual marine trade show, held in its usual Southampton location, buzzed with conversation and innovation from the moment i stepped onto Mayflower Park. Attendance was strong—definitely stronger than pre-pandemic levels I felt, but I've not attend since Covid as i stepped away from business to focus on my research—with exhibitors and visitors representing every corner of the maritime sector.
Unlike many of the attendees who came with commercial objectives—to sell products or scout new technologies—I arrived with a different purpose. As a marine engineer and PhD researcher focused on dynamic energy infrastructure for inland waterway decarbonisation, my goal was engagement: to connect with industry professionals about the critical challenges we face in transitioning to cleaner propulsion systems - and i wasn't disappointed with the opportunities to talk.
Research in the Wild: Bridging Theory and Practice
Academic research often exists in silos, divorced from the practical realities of industry. I've certainly felt isolated from my vast network of connections across the marine industry as i seek to gather data that will help me develop my research - though it is early days . Seawork offered me a valuable opportunity to discuss thoughts and ideas with those who operate vessels daily, maintain infrastructure, develop solutions, and make purchasing decisions. What surprised me most were the depth of conversations and genuine interest from industry representatives in collaborative development—not just in finished solutions ready for market.
"The most productive discussions weren't about products I could buy today, but about challenges we'll face together in five to ten years and how the landscape has to change to meet these difficult targets that we all, honestly, want to meet"
This aligns perfectly with my belief that research's role in inland waterway transport isn't as a commercial driver, but as the foundation for developing viable, scalable solutions. Too often we focus on the "what" (the technologies) at the expense of the "how" (the implementation pathways). Seawork confirmed that industry recognises this gap and is hungry for approaches that consider holistically the entire system.
Why Research-Industry Collaboration Matters
Inland waterways present unique decarbonisation challenges—diverse vessel types, varying operational patterns, and infrastructure constraints that differ markedly from roads or railways. While technological solutions exist (battery systems, hydrogen fuel cells, etc.), their real-world viability depends crucially on context.
What excited me most at Seawork was seeing this collaborative mindset in action across multiple conference sessions. The best conversations revolved around uncovering "the art of the possible"—not through polished sales pitches and marketing slide decks, but through honest dialogue about the real world challenges and opportunities for learning.
Conference Highlights: Future Fuels and Onshore Power
Among the many of the free to attend conference sessions at Seawork, two particularly stood out for their relevance to inland waterway decarbonisation. These sessions reinforced key themes emerging from my research while highlighting critical industry perspectives.
Future Fuels: Real World Applications & Industry Learnings
Speakers: John Booth (MCA), Steve Bruce (ePropulsion), John Buckingham (BMT), Bert de Ruiter (Jifmar Group), moderated by Noel Tomlinson (BMT)
The session made clear that energy infrastructure—not marine technology—remains the critical bottleneck. Even when viable propulsion technologies exist (whether for hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, or batteries), the where, when, and how much of energy supply remains unresolved. This directly echoes my PhD's focus on predictive infrastructure planning.
One compelling moment came when a panelist noted, "We're seeing vessels zero-emission ready before the infrastructure is available to support them." This perfectly encapsulates the challenge for inland waterways—decarbonisation requires more than just clean vessels; it demands entire energy ecosystems evolving in sync.
Onshore Power Supply: Connect, Invest, Decarbonise
Speakers: Leo Hambro (Tidal Transit), Lex Hanham (ABP), Andy Hurley (Marine Zero), Chris Joyner (ABB), moderated by Roland Teixeira de Matos (EOPSA)
This session explored the investment and data challenges around shore power infrastructure—a critical enabler for both battery-electric vessels and those using alternative fuels that may require port-based energy inputs. What resonated most was the emphasis on "energy intelligence"—understanding not just peak demand, but temporal patterns, geographic distribution, and variability between vessel types.
These discussions showed strong parallels with my work modeling dynamic energy demand across inland waterway networks. With one operator telling me: "We don't just need more charging points; we need the right charging points in the right places with the right capacity - Its pointless just plonking them just anywhere" This operational insight reinforces the value of data-driven infrastructure planning.
Visualising the Challenge: Energy Demand Across Inland Waterways
To make highlight these challenges, let's examine two data perspectives from my previous research that directly relate to these Seawork discussions:
Vessel Operational Profiles
Understanding diverse energy needs starts with recognising how differently vessels operate. The chart shows typical daily energy consumption patterns across common inland waterway vessel types.
The variation shown here highlights why "one size fits all" energy solutions often fail—a container barge's steady operational profile differs markedly from a passenger vessel's peaky demand. Infrastructure must accommodate this diversity and it must also consider the variations in a complex array of conditions that can impact these demands, which themselves can be dynamic. As well as this, whilst diesel has established itself as the overwhelming primary fuel of choice for inland waterway operations, a singualr energy source is unlikely to dominate so heavily in the future. So when considering the infrastructure it would be a remiss to think only in terms of electricity supply for example.
Geographic Energy Demand Patterns
Where vessels operate matters as much as how they operate. This heat-table shows simulated energy demand along a notional waterway, combining factors like vessel density, operational patterns, and local constraints:
This visualisation shows why strategic infrastructure placement matters—peak demand could concentrate near urban areas and locks/ports (because of the volume of traffic and the need to load/unlaod freight etc), while remote stretches show consistent but lower demand. Planning must account for these patterns to avoid underutilised assets or insufficient capacity.
Moving Forward: Systems Thinking For Scalable Solutions
Seawork 2025 reaffirmed both the urgency and complexity of inland waterway decarbonisation. The technologies exist—whether hydrogen fuel cells, battery systems, or alternative fuels—but their successful deployment requires systems-thinking approaches that consider:
Geographic and temporal energy demand patterns
Infrastructure-lifecycle economics
Operational realities of diverse vessel types
Dynamic coordination between multiple stakeholders
My key takeaway from Seawork is that industry recognises this complexity and is increasingly open to research collaborations that can illuminate the onward journey. My PhD's data-driven approach—mapping energy demand dynamics across waterway networks—appears well-positioned to provide practical value for both policymakers and operators, and I'm very excited about the future and about working with the amazing people involved with the inland waterways. They recognise the economic challenges of moving to zero emission propulsion solutions - today it simply does not make sense, from a business perspective - but they know its the right thing to do, and thats what drives the conversation on.
For those working on inland waterway decarbonisation, the message from Seawork was clear: the challenge isn't invention (we have the necessary technologies), but integration (making them work together at scale). I left feeling energised by the conversations started and look forward to continuing these discussions with industry partners as my research progresses.
Paul Simavari - ZEIWW and Newcastle University Researcher
Marine engineer, researcher, and advocate for practical decarbonisation of Europe’s inland waterways. I write to share insights, challenges, and progress from my PhD journey — with the aim of turning data into real-world solutions that work for the people who rely on these waterways every day.
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