Besides Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe there are many other relevant funding programmes managed by several agencies and directorates of the European Commission.
The Innovation Fund was set up with the revenues of the emission trading system (ETS). The purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by private companies in harder to abate sectors. It aims at 4 technologies: renewable energy sources and storage, carbon capture and storage, carbon capture and utilization, innovative low carbon solutions.
Autoship is, as the name suggests, an acronym for autonomous ship. Just like with self-driving cars, the possibilities of an unmanned boat seem endless. It can create more efficient freight transport, around the clock deliveries and these are just a few of the examples. The project has two societal challenges.
At first, De Vlaamse Waterweg was a bit hesitant as their experience with FP7 or Horizon 2020 projects was limited and they had not been very successful up until then. The fact that they were already doing basic research on the topic of autonomous boats, and the administrative help of NCP FLanders helped De Vlaamse waterweg to cross the line and get involved.