GRENDEL – GREEN AND EFFICIENT DANUBE FLEET

The main objective of the GRENDEL project is to provide proactive support to public authorities and the Danube vessel operators in the challenging modernisation process of the existing Danube fleet. In the past months, the activities progressed in the following areas:

• Know-how transfer activities which led to the creation of an IWT Innovative Technologies database on a dedicated section of the GRENDEL website
• Development of a first draft model state aid scheme
• Transport & logistics management
• Further development of vessel concepts which will be published in the next months.

4TH CONSORTIUM MEETINGS

The GRENDEL team stays active and mobilised despite the current Corona crisis!

The 4th GRENDEL Consortium Meeting was organised virtually together with the 4th Work Package & Activity Leaders Meeting and with the 4th Steering Committee Meeting on 31st March 2020. These meetings allowed to provide an overview of the progress of the project and of the next steps towards the finalisation of the results in November 2020.

SAVE THE DATE! KNOW-HOW TRANSFER EVENT ON THE MODERNISATION OF THE DANUBE FLEET & 3RD PUBLIC CONSULTATION

The Know-how transfer event on the modernisation of Danube vessels will take place on 29 September 2020 (originally planned on 01 April 2020) and will be organised by the Danube Commission in Budapest.

On the next day, on 30 September 2020, the Danube Commission will host the third public consultation which will allow to discuss about the prepared model state aid scheme and about the regulatory framework in general.

READ MORE

IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN THE ELABORATION PROCESS OF THE MODEL STATE AID SCHEME

The GRENDEL project consortium, INDanube and representatives of Danube countries work together on the elaboration of a state aid model programme promoting sustainable modernisation of inland waterway vessels in the Danube region.

A first internal version of the model state aid scheme was developed, taking into account the results gathered during the project, information exchanges with the European Commission (DG COMP) on legal parameters, with representatives of public bodies of Danube States and from the private sector.

READ MORE
 

SECOND PUBLIC CONSULTATION SUCCESSFULLY ORGANISED IN BUDAPEST

Attended by experts of the European Commission (DG MOVE and DG COMP), the Danube Commission as well as national public and private entities, the core objective of the second public consultation organised in the framework of the GRENDEL project was to discuss and analyse the ongoing drafting process of the Model State Aid Scheme. Initiated by Pro Danube International, the ambitious plan to provide a widely harmonised State Aid Scheme for Danube fleet modernisation across borders has to take several legal aspects into consideration in order not to interfere with European legislation.

READ MORE

GUIDELINES FOR TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT AVAILABLE

Besides environmental & economic performance, Danube IWT needs improved IT based logistics processes for full integration into managed logistics chains of industry.

GRENDEL analysed requirements and logistics processes of representative fleet operators and prepared guidelines for transport and logistics management. The recommendations are summarised around four key elements:

• Co-operation
• Integration
• Value added services to support logistics operations
• Value added services to support fairway operators

The GRENDEL project and its recommendations clearly support the achievement of the targets established in the revised EUSDR Action Plan for PA1a.

NEW TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION FACTSHEETS AVAILABLE

Factsheets providing basic information on innovative technologies in modernising inland vessels are released in cooperation with the INDanube Innovation Transfer Centre in the framework of the project. Several technological innovation factsheets were newly elaborated:

• Factsheet on Battery electric propulsion
• Factsheet on Drop-in fuels
• Factsheet on EURO VI truck and NRE engines

READ MORE