ReNEW marked its presence in the Inland Navigation Week 2023!
The hybrid event “Inland Navigation Week” focused on the potential of Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) and was organised by the ReNEW coordinator – European Inland Waterway Transport Platform – from 20 to 24 March 2023 in Brussels and online.
The first day of INW2023 was under the theme “Greening the fleet”. The morning started with a session on an overview of all difficulties in the IWT sector on greening the fleet, followed by a discussion with Daisy Rycquart (Secretary of the EU IWT platform Innovation & Greening Committee) about a possible solution for the financial bottleneck – an IWT Greening Fund. Complementary to this session, Sebastian Verhelst from Ghent University presented a technical comparison of all alternative fuels and the current EU Projects that are pioneers in the transition towards zero-emission, Synergetics, Rh2iwer, and Needs. After lunch, attendees had a Technology Matchmaking Workshop with the ENTRANCE project.
On the second day of INW2023, dedicated to Autonomous Sailing and Resilience Clusters, ReNEW was in the spotlight. Our partner, Birger Schrevens from imec, presented ReNEW to more than 100 participants, focusing on the project’s vision, expected outcomes and the four Living Labs. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about ReNEW’s sister projects, such as CRISTAL and PLOTO.
Wednesday, 22 March, was a full-day workshop. Alongside industry experts, participants discussed the impact of digitalisation on IWT and how it can support the industry’s growth and competitiveness in the upcoming decade.
On the 23 and 24 March, the PLATINA3 Final Stage Event took place, where attendees learned about the latest developments and upcoming challenges of IWT and exchanged ideas on how to contribute to shaping the policy of IWT in Europe.
Inland Navigation Week was intense and very impactful. It was an incredible chance to broaden ReNEW’s community, get in touch with colleagues and enjoy great moments together.
Presentations will be soon available for download at IWT’s website.
