GRENDEL - GREEN AND EFFICIENT DANUBE FLEET

As of 1 June 2018, a transnational consortium of 13 co-funded organisations and 11 associated strategic partners (public administrations and authorities, fleet operators, research and innovation institutes, consulting companies, education & training institutes and NGOs) from 8 European countries started the implementation of the GRENDEL project.

The project aims to support the Danube fleet operators and their public counterparts in ecological and economic modernisation of the sector and in definition and deployment of necessary transition measures. Dedicated activities will raise the awareness of the Danube fleet operators & sector concerning the impact of new regulations, advanced technologies which reduce air pollutants & energy consumption of inland vessels as well as improved transport & logistics management processes making use of digitalisation. On the other side, GRENDEL will support ministries and public authorities in elaborating public support measures (State Aid schemes) based on investment priorities of relevant Danube inland waterway fleet operators.

Improving the environmental and economic performance of the Danube fleet is the overall goal of the GRENDEL project. It aims to achieve a higher acceptance and use of inland waterway transport (IWT) as an environmentally friendly transport mode contributing to economic growth and a more sustainable transport system in the Danube region. GRENDEL addresses various fleet modernisation aspects:

1. use of low carbon & alternative fuels
2. reduction of air pollutant emissions (CO2, NOx, PM)
3. overall energy consumption
4. transport & logistics management processes to ensure better integration of the Danube IWT into logistics chains

Thirty months of intensive work are ahead of the GRENDEL consortium (June 2018 - November 2020) under the coordination of Pro Danube International as the lead partner. The total budget of the project is 1,824,999 EUR out of which 1,481,137 EUR is ERDF contribution and 70,112 EUR is IPA contribution.

Follow the GRENDEL project on the social media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/INDanube/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/INDanube
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8560850

Successful project launch in Constanta

On 30 August 2018, the GRENDEL Consortium and external experts successfully launched the first major project in the Danube region focusing on the modernisation of the Danube fleet. The event brought together about 50 participants and offered a platform to discuss modernisation challenges laying ahead of sector and financing of such modernisation measures like an initiative "greening fund" under discussion in Western Europe.

GRENDEL at CCNR meeting on financing the greening of the fleet

The greening of the inland vessels is no longer an option but an obligation if IWT is to assert and strengthen its position as a sustainable alternative to other more polluting modes of transport, in particular road transport. With this motto CCNR initiated a platform of experts to discuss financing measures for fleet modernisation and their management modalities. The Danube sector was represented by the GRENDEL project.

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Policy agenda workshop addressed funding for fleet modernisation

The Policy Agenda Workshop as part of the DTP/GREEN DANUBE project delivered highly attractive input for GRENDEL. Austrian fleet operators reflected on missing technological solutions for imposed NRMM limits, urged a fair and clear comparison basis for the assessment of environmental friendliness of transport modes, stressed that proposed support measures shall be technology neutral and requested subsidies addressing investments into new vessels in the same manner as for retrofitting.

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Report on digital inland navigation (DINA)

The report on Digital Inland Navigation, published mid-September 2018 by the European Commission follows up on the ‘Digital Inland Waterway Area’ (DINA) study from October 2017. The report helps framing the discussion on the digitalisation of the inland waterways transport sector. The published DINA study will be one of the inputs for further work of the GRENDEL consortium when focusing on improvement of transport & logistics management processes.

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Towards quality inland waterway transport - state of play

The NAIADES II mid-term report published by the European Commission mid-September 2018 acknowledges that innovation in the IWT sector emerges, however still remains limited. It calls upon deployment of innovative measures aimed at reducing emissions from the sector. It emphasis the role of public authorities to step up efforts to support the greening of the sector. GRENDEL with its Model State Aid for the modernisation of the Danube fleet supports national authorities in setting the necessary financial framework.

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