Reducing greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions in the transport sector is one of the greatest challenges for the next decade. Studies show that around one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU are accounted for by the transport sector, with an upward trend. All transport modes, including inland navigation, will have to contribute to reducing emissions. Reducing transportrelated emissions is right at the top of the European Commission’s agenda, as demonstrated by the recent publication of its
“European Green Deal” and its strategic long-term vision for a climate-neutral European economy by 2050. In the Mannheim Declaration, the ministers of the CCNR Member States reaffirmed the objective of a 35% reduction in inland navigation greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions by 2035 compared with 2015, largely eliminating them by 2050. For inland navigation vessels, it is anticipated that electric propulsion systems, and other technical solutions besides, will play a pivotal role in achieving these objectives. Batteries and alternative energy sources, such as fuel cells, for supplying these propulsion systems with electrical energy are already being trialled. Both technologies require a sufficiently developed shorebased infrastructure for supplying the required energy carrier. An adequate supply requires not just good infrastructure at the berth itself, for example in the form of bunkering or charging stations, but also adequate generation of environmentally friendly electrical energy or environmentally friendly energy carriers, together with an efficient transport network.
The workshop is dedicated to electrical propulsion systems that are supplied with electrical energy from alternative energy sources, such as fuel cells or batteries, and explicitly not to conventional fuel combustion. The workshop is intended to demonstrate that electrical propulsion systems will assume a pivotal role in achieving the objective of reducing pollutants and greenhouse gases in inland navigation. This requires the sharing of information on which technologies are already available or which are in
development, and the technical, economic and organisational challenges to implementation that exist. The workshop is intended to identify targeted measures for supporting the energy transition and promote awareness of the fact that the inland navigation sector will in future require more electrical.
The workshop is intended for the following representatives and experts:
• Shipping industry
• Equipment manufacturers
• Energy generators and distributors
• Waterway infrastructure operators incl. cargo transfer
terminals
• Other relevant national and international public and private
institutions.
Working languages: German, French, Dutch, English
Participation in the workshop is free of charge. The event programme and precise venue will be notified later.