Valencia, 3 March 2023. – In mid-February, representatives of the Fundación Valenciaport travelled to Brussels to participate in the kick-off meeting of the SEAMLESS project – Safe, efficient and Autonomous: Multimodal Library of European Shortsea and inland Solutions, an initiative co-financed by the European Horizon Europe framework programme whose objective is to develop and adapt the missing technological components to create a fully automated and economically viable freight transport service that can be applied to both short sea shipping (SSS) and inland waterway transport.

The project will focus on developing and adapting the basic elements and enablers needed to successfully implement the service. One of the main objectives of SEAMLESS is to shift road freight transport to inland waterways through the development and integration of autonomous systems. These systems will be designed to ensure safe, resilient and efficient operation while minimising the environmental impact of the service.

To achieve these objectives, the SEAMLESS project will focus on several key areas such as the development and integration of new technologies for autonomous navigation, cargo handling and energy management or the development of new business models and regulatory frameworks to support the implementation of the service.

Overall, the SEAMLESS project represents an important step forward in the development of more sustainable and efficient freight transport systems. By harnessing the potential of inland waterways and autonomous technologies, the project aims to create a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional road freight transport.

Specifically, the role of the Fundación Valenciaport in this project is to lead the development of a platform that addresses the main transport constraints in terms of efficiency and document processes.

The kick-off meeting of the SEAMLESS Project, which has a total budget of 15 million euros, was attended by 47 representatives of the 26 leading partners from different industries, R&D and technology areas that make up the consortium: National Technical University of Athens (coordinator); Fundación Valenciaport; Delft University of Technology; Bergen Havn AS; Terminal Industry Committee 4.0; ZULU Associates; SINTEF Ocean; CiaoTech – Gruppo PNO; Innovation Place; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); ISL – Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics; IRT SystemX; Duisport – Duisburger Hafen AG; DST – Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems; Voies navigables de France; ESI Ltd. Engitec Systems International Ltd.; ASKO; ALICE, Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe (ETP LOGISTICS); Inland Shipping – Europe; Port of Antwerp-Bruges; University of Belgrade; Kongsberg Maritime; Bureau Veritas Group; Awake.AI; Piraeus Container Terminal and MacGregor.