Imagine replacing heavy delivery trucks with a fleet of small, electric, self-driving boats that can navigate narrow canals. These boats use special 'charging hubs' that act like gas stations for both cargo and electricity. It's like creating a digital conveyor belt on water to get goods into cities without the traffic.
Urban freight relies on trucks that cause congestion and emissions, while inland waterways remain underutilised due to a lack of flexible, small-scale, and automated transport options.
Developed blueprints for Stow&Charge hubs, designs for Temporary Port Terminals, and concepts for Mobile Distribution Centers to enable water-to-road cargo transfer.
If you are a delivery provider dealing with urban road congestion — this project developed autonomous un-crewed vessels that enable a modal shift from trucks to water. This allows you to move containerized cargo through underutilised waterways to reach city centers more efficiently.
If you are a terminal operator dealing with a lack of permanent docking facilities in remote areas — this project developed Temporary Port Terminals (TPT). These allow you to handle cargo, storage, and access control without building expensive permanent concrete piers.
If you are an energy company dealing with the need for distributed charging infrastructure — this project developed Stow&Charge hubs. These integrate solar canopies and windmills to generate and distribute electric energy directly to the transport system.
Based on available project data, specific unit costs or pricing models are not provided, although the project is developing new business models for operating the transport system.
Yes, the project validates concepts through scale model testing and full-scale demonstrations to pave the way for industry adoption.
Based on available project data, the project is developing KET interface standards and a roadmap for exploitation, but specific licensing terms are not listed.
The project develops an architecture for transhipment between modes, specifically using Mobile Distribution Centers and Temporary Port Terminals to link water and road transport.
The project runs from 2024-01-01 to 2026-12-31, with the final results intended to provide a roadmap for realisation.
The consortium is heavily weighted toward practical application, with a 44% industry ratio consisting of 4 industrial partners and 2 SMEs. This balance, combined with 4 research organizations and 1 university, suggests a strong focus on commercial viability and technical validation rather than pure academic research.
Contact SINTEF OCEAN AS in Norway for technical specifications on autonomous vessel design.
Contact us to find a partner for the AUTOFLEX full-scale demonstration phase.
