DiVINE will support the inland waterway transport sector in moving from a shared digitalisation vision to a concrete and actionable roadmap by 2035.
At the heart of this work is the recognition that increasing the modal share of inland waterway transport in multimodal logistics depends on a stronger digital interconnectivity with logistics systems, transport platforms, infrastructure managers, public authorities and other modes of transport.
In this context, EU-funded projects such as HERFRIED provide valuable deployment evidence for the future DiVINE roadmap, showing how the sector can translate policy priorities into operational, scalable and interoperable solutions.
Funded under the Horizon Europe call “Integrating inland waterway transport in smart shipping and multimodal logistics chains”, HERFRIED is an example of how EU funding acts as a financial instrument to accelerate the large-scale deployment of cooperative Smart Shipping and Smart Logistics solutions. HERFRIED contributes valuable evidence to the four pillars at the centre of DiVINE: Smart Vessels, Smart Infrastructure, Smart Data and Smart Administration. Through its industry-led pilots, HERFRIED demonstrates practical approaches to automated information exchange, improved tracking and visibility, port transhipment optimisation, cross-border interoperability, and better integration of inland waterways with road and rail logistics chains. These experiences provide useful deployment insights for the future DiVINE roadmap.
This connection between DiVINE and deployment-oriented Horizon Europe projects is essential: while individual projects test solutions in real operational environments, DiVINE helps position these results within a wider European framework for digital transformation across inland navigation.
By connecting pilots, policy objectives and stakeholder needs, DiVINE supports the creation of a coherent digital ecosystem where data, infrastructure, vessels and administration work together to make inland waterway transport more reliable, transparent, sustainable and attractive for shippers and logistics operators. The message is clear: the future of inland navigation will not be shaped by isolated digital tools, but by an interconnected system able to support smarter decisions, greener freight flows and stronger multimodal integration across Europe.
