Living Lab 1: Ghent, Belgium
Overview
Ghent is a specific medium-sized city counting approximately 250.000 inhabitants and 75.000 students, with an old mediaeval city centre and a fine-mazed waterway system. The test area includes a sea canal between Ghent and Terneuzen (Netherlands), canals, rivers, canals with tidal action with a wide range of infrastructure.
Living Lab Description: Terminal & Modal shift
Ghent’s City Logistics Hubs synchronise barge arrivals with transport modes to align with Ghent’s sustainable goals. They efficiently unload cargo from inland waterways, aided by automated technology and upgraded infrastructure. In FOREMAST, the goal is to achieve a 20% increase in modal shift, making transport 20% more sustainable by 2030. Consortium efforts aim to shift goods from roads to water, contributing to a greener urban distribution.
Living Lab Updates
News from Living Lab 1 Ghent, January 2026
Preparatory trials have been conducted to support the upcoming platooning and autonomous-assisted vessel operations. These tests included manoeuvres such as circular and zig-zag patterns, executed with the AVATAR III vessel to assess control, responsiveness, and communication performance under a range of conditions. These results feed directly into the development of advanced navigation and automation functions that will be part of the Living Lab demonstrations.
At the same time, adaptations to the AVATAR II vessel have been completed to make it ready for remote-controlled sailing, further ensuring that the fleet is capable of experimental operations remotely monitored from shore-based command centres.
All three vessels currently involved in the Living Lab are now equipped with 5G connectivity and dedicated onboard computers provided by KNT, supporting high-bandwidth data transmission to the FOREMAST digital platform. This connectivity backbone will underpin real-time situational awareness, data logging, and integration with the digital twin tools being developed as part of the project’s operational optimisation efforts.
Unfortunately, due to adverse snowy weather conditions at the Living Lab site, onsite work on the vessels has been temporarily postponed for safety and operational reasons. Activities will resume once conditions improve.
These developments collectively contribute to the ambition of shifting freight volumes from road to waterways — making logistics flows in Ghent more sustainable, efficient, and resilient in support of the project’s modal shift targets.
News from Living Lab 1 Ghent, March 2025
The Ghent Living Lab has marked a significant step toward sustainable urban logistics, following successful tests that blend multimodal transport strategies and cutting-edge vessel automation technology. The initiative, part of a broader effort to reduce road congestion and emissions, focuses on shifting intra-urban cargo movement from trucks to waterways.
In its first demonstration, the Living Lab oversaw the transport of 100 tons of plastic waste from Brussels to a processing facility in Ghent. The operation combined road and water transport, highlighting the potential of multimodal solutions to alleviate pressure on urban road networks.
As part of its innovation drive, the Living Lab is also exploring increased automation in vessel operations. Recent tests in the heart of Ghent included remote-controlled sailing from a shore-based command center. These trials assessed essential capabilities such as navigation in shallow waters, object recognition, station keeping, and other autonomous functions—laying the groundwork for future smart inland shipping solutions.
Efforts are also underway to design and implement new synchromodal logistics flows, aimed at optimizing the interplay between various transport modes. This will further stimulate a shift from road to waterborne freight in and around Ghent’s urban core.
The Ghent Living Lab is fast emerging as a model for cities across Europe seeking to modernize logistics while reducing their environmental footprint.
Characteristics
Demonstrations environment: small waterway, lake, intra-urban
Simulation testing environment: small waterway, lake, intraurban. Coastal, estuary
Satellite-based data & services: Copernicus & Galileo / EGNOS
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
Main Objectives
Simulate, design and implement a SFAZ based multimodal logistic solutions for cities and intra-urban applications that evidence shifting cargo from road to sustainable waterborne transport using the Digital Twin platform
Test and explore increased vessel automation, specifically investigating: a) impact of hydrodynamic effects on manoeuvrability in shallow waters, b) mathematical models for platooning, c) simulation and safety assessment for mixed traffic d) high-tech automation-human interaction
Improve energy resilience with power solution innovations, including floating batteries, model of swap battery systems, H2 solutions for fuel cells in small Class I/II ships, and develop a refuelling station for several applications (swap system, H2 delivery).
Integrate SFAZ vessels in the synchromodal logistic chain with various transport modes. Simulate and test ship and shore digital twin solutions for fleet planning and network optimisation.
Innovations to be demonstrated:
- Automated/autonomous vessel functions: Navigation functions such as steering & manoeuvring in shallow or deep water in different weather
- Zero-emissions propulsion Energy resilience with innovative power solutions including energy storage solutions and refuelling station model
- Modal shift from road to water for several types of goods involving testing the automated vessel in real life economic settings
Living Lab Test Cases
Smart Solutions Development:
Simulate, design, and implement cutting-edge SFAZ-based multimodal logistic solutions for cities and intra-urban applications. Utilise the Digital Twining platform to shift cargo from roads to sustainable Waterborne Transport.
Energy Resilience Enhancement
Improve energy resilience with power solution innovations, including floating batteries, swap battery systems, and H2 fuel cells for small ships. Develop a versatile refuelling station catering to applications like the Swap system and H2 delivery.
Integration into Synchromodal Logistics
Seamlessly integrate SFAZ vessels into the synchromodal logistic chain, testing ship and shore digital twin solutions. Simulate and optimise fleet planning and network coordination.
The LL1 is taking the AVATAR vessel and giving it a sustainable makeover to create the ultimate SFAZ vessel.
The impact of hydrodynamic effects on manoeuvrability in shallow waters is explored using AVATAR vessels, incorporating real-life testing and continuous remote surveillance.
Mathematical models for platooning, with the master vessel under remote control and slave vessels closely monitored.
Simulation and safety assessment for mixed traffic, including fleet management, automated mooring system innovations, and enhanced situational awareness through monocular depth estimation.
Develop high-tech automation-human interaction for navigation and operational tasks, aligning with FOREMAST autonomy control architecture and interfaces.
