Impact of speed planning for inland vessels with alternative power systems on energy efficiency and emissions

The inland waterway transport sector is facing increasingly stringent legislation to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. Speed planning has the potential to provide logistically compliant, energy-efficient, and emission-reducing voyages for inland vessels. However, current speed planning methods do not consider PM and NOx emissions, nor do they consider alternative power systems to internal combustion engines (ICE) and full electric systems. These omissions have led to a lack of clarity on the impact of speed planning on the emission profile of inland vessels and the impact of alternative power systems on energy consumption. In this paper we propose a validated speed planning method that considers the emission profile (CO2, PM10, and NOx) and different engine types for inland vessels in an leg-based speed planning approach while taking into account varying fairway water depth and speed. Through a use case we show that the vessel can achieve a 7.26% energy, 5.37% CO2 and fuel, 3.85% NOx, and 6.77% PM10 reduction while maintaining the same arrival time; showing a distinct difference of this method compared to slow steaming. We also find that CO2, NOx, PM10, and energy are not directly proportional when making speed adjustments. Finally, we analyze the adverse effects of emission control areas and emission limits on the energy consumption and arrival times of vessels with non-zero emissions propulsion.