Transportation: ENEA uses advanced sensors and AI models to revitalize navigation on the Po river

Artificial intelligence and advanced sensor technology to revitalize navigability and river transport along the Po are the technologies developed by ENEA as part of the €6.8 million European CRISTAL^[1] project, which involved 16 partners from 9 countries to analyse three major European rivers: the Po in Italy, the Moselle in France and the Vistula in Poland. The CRISTAL project is part of the European policy aimed at bringing inland waterways back to the forefront of sustainable mobility, shifting up to 20% of freight traffic from road to water.

ENEA has developed an integrated technological system that combines data analysis models based on artificial intelligence with advanced sensing solutions, capable of predicting navigability conditions on the Po River.

“The navigable system of the Po River and its connected canals is recognized as a key infrastructure and is included in the ‘core network’ of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), serving as a strategic axis for connections between the Mediterranean and Central Europe” explained ENEA project coordinator Sonia Giovinazzi, a researcher at the Critical Infrastructure Laboratory of the Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources (TERIN). “The CRISTAL project” she said “ helped develop all the tools necessary to strengthen the integration of the Po River into the European multimodal network, improving sustainable connectivity and facilitating freight transport between Northern Italy and the rest of Europe.”

The ENEA system is designed to continuously monitor the accumulation of sediment and debris on the riverbed, using a network of underwater weighing plates installed at the river’s most critical points. These plates are equipped with fiber-optic sensors featuring FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) technology[2], developed by the Photonics Laboratory of the Nuclear Department. The data is then integrated with hydrological and meteorological parameters and processed by an artificial intelligence model developed by TERIN’s Critical Infrastructure Laboratory. This integrated system allows to obtain accurate, real-time information to plan targeted preventive maintenance of the riverbed and ensure navigation safety, even extreme weather conditions.

“Now the system must be tested on selected stretches of the Po River to validate it under real-world conditions, following the laboratory tests” explained Michele Arturo Caponero at the Photonics Laboratory of the ENEA Nuclear Department. “Once this phase is complete” he said “it will be possible to establish a permanent monitoring network along the river, providing real-time data to navigation operators, waterway managers and safety authorities”.

The adoption of a fiber-optic-based monitoring system allows us to move beyond the traditional approach relying on periodic inspections with bathymetric vessels, which are currently used to assess seabed conditions and prepare navigability reports. Measurements transmitted via fiber optics provide more continuous data  more stable over time and available even under extreme operating conditions, when deploying bathymetric vessels might be difficult or even impossible. With an additional  significant environmental benefit: replacing daily measurement campaigns conducted with diesel-powered vessels leads to a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, cutting the carbon footprint associated with navigability monitoring.

In addition to describing the seabed conditions, the ENEA system can forecast navigability conditions up to 10 days in advance. “These forecasts are key for identifying critical situations in advance, like excessive accumulation of sediment or debris, which can reduce water depth and increase the risk of vessels running aground” said Maria Luisa Villani, a researcher at the ENEA-TERIN Critical Infrastructure Laboratory.

Having predictive information allows shipping and logistics operators to offer more reliable delivery times, avoiding delays, vessel downtime and economic losses that can trigger a ripple effect on the entire supply chain.

ENEA technologies for the CRISTAL project stem from the convergence of research and real-world needs, following a “living lab” approach to co-design in the field. The end users of CRISTAL’s solutions are, in fact, also project partners: the AIPO (Interregional Agency for the River Po) will use the data to produce navigability reports covering up to 10 days; the operator of various waterways in Veneto, Infrastrutture Venete srl, has conducted a feasibility study both for recharging hybrid and electric vessels and enabling all moored vessels, including those with only internal combustion engines, to use shore-based electricity instead of onboard diesel generators; Uniontrasporti will use the developed solutions to improve service quality and safety in support of logistics and industry operators; Sogesca has played and will continue to play a key role in facilitating dialogue between technological innovation and real operational needs, ensuring that the developed solutions align with user needs and are supported through to actual adoption. Through the Living Labs, Sogesca has also contributed to the “Manifesto for the Sustainable Development of the Padano-Veneto Waterway System”, an action plan developed with key stakeholders of the waterway system and presented to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), to further explore and address the main issues that have emerged.