Eco-Driving for Inland River Transport: The Potential of Speed Optimization

As the needs for sustainable freight transport solutions grow, river freight cargo is considered to be a promising track. In this paper, potential gains with eco-driving on-board advisor are discussed. A projected gradient optimization method is used to minimize hydrodynamic losses according to hydrodynamic ship resistance estimation model in restricted area. Optimized speed profiles are edited for a 135 meters long freight vessel and the consumption gains are compared for different travel times and waterways topologies. The method allows up to 24 % theoretical gains without increasing travel time, highly depending on the travel duration constraint and on the sizes of both ship and canal. The results also show a consumption reduction up to 35% by reducing travel speed by less than 5%.