Energy Demand in Inland Waterway Transport Under Hydrodynamic Variability on the Rhine

Abstract

Decarbonisation of inland waterway transport requires reliable estimates of propulsion energy use to support the design of zero-emission bunkering infrastructure. Existing approaches rely on averaged or static representations of energy demand, which fail to capture how vessel operations and waterway conditions interact along a corridor. As a result, peak energy requirements and their spatial concentration are systematically underestimated, leading to suboptimal infrastructure planning.

To address this, the study reconstructs vessel movements along the Rotterdam-Basel corridor using empirical trip data and observed hydrodynamic conditions for 2024. A discrete-event simulation is used to represent vessel operations, and battery-electric and hydrogen propulsion systems are evaluated under identical traffic and environmental conditions.

The results show that energy demand is a state-dependent outcome that varies along the corridor rather than a fixed vessel characteristic. Hydrodynamic properties, in particular current velocity, create a spatially heterogeneous demand pattern in which distinct waterway segments consistently concentrate energy use. Under adverse current velocities, these segments exhibit non-linear increases in propulsion requirements and define the upper bounds of corridor energy demand.

These findings show that average-based approaches fail to capture corridor-level properties and underestimate the infrastructure required to ensure operational feasibility. Corridor performance is governed by recurrent high-demand segments rather than mean energy use, suggesting that bunkering infrastructure planning should account for these recurrent high-demand locations rather than rely only on uniform spacing along the corridor.