Objective

To support the integration of inland waterway transport into supply chains of the biomass and bioenergy sector, the ENERGY BARGE project collected and analysed the requirements of potential customers of Danube logistics services. Desk research, evaluation of existing studies and carrying out around 40 interviews with experts from five Danube countries, provided the basis for an assessment report. The report also covers existing potentials and needed investments. The final results of the analysis were clustered according to types of biomass and products as well as to the logistics processes (1) transport, (2) transshipment and (3) storage.

As a result of this analysis, the general logistics requirements of the bioenergy industry can be summarised as follows:

• Reliable waterway infrastructure;
• Efficient infra- and superstructure in the Danube ports (in terms of quantity and quality);
• Time-efficient and flexible administrative processes;
• Flexible logistics concepts integrating Danube logistics services.

In addition to these requirements, which are also relevant for customers of Danube logistics services from other economic sectors, cargo-specific requirements were collected and analysed for specific types of biomass goods that are suitable to be transported via inland waterways.

Conclusion

The assessment carried out by the ENERGY BARGE partners shows that bio-based raw materials and bioenergy products are highly suitable for being transported on the Danube waterway due to the high level of consistence between logistics requirements of the bioenergy industry and the service portfolio of the Danube logistics sector. The conducted expert discussions showed however that sufficiently large transport volumes and company locations in the vicinity of the Danube (at least one node of the transport route) are a prerequisite to facilitate a modal shift towards inland waterway transport.

The vessels currently deployed along the Danube are more than suitable to facilitate the transport of raw materials, intermediates and end products. Many Danube ports (especially along the Upper Danube) currently already dispose of suitable handling equipment and storage facilities to serve the needs of the biomass and bioenergy industry.

Outlook

In case that new equipment is needed at a particular location, the port or terminal operator can build its investment decision on good practice examples existing elsewhere. To this end ENERGY BARGE can build a platform for this know-how exchange and also integrate findings derived from an exchange workshop with the ports of Bamberg and Aschaffenburg in Germany.

For the detailed report please have a look here.

The ENERGY BARGE team at an exchange workshop in Bamberg, Germany.