SEAMLESS aims at developing and adapting missing building blocks and enablers into a fully automated, economically viable, cost-effective, and resilient waterborne freight feeder loop service for Short Sea Shipping (SSS) and/or Inland Waterways Transport (IWT). Autonomous systems will be integrated to ensure safe, resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly operation to shift road freight movements to hinterland waterways, while enhancing the performance of the TEN-T network. The service will be delivered 24/7 by a fleet of autonomous cargo shuttles, with humans-in-the-loop located in Remote Operation Centres (ROCs), which efficiently cooperate with automated and autonomous shore-side infrastructure and safely interact with conventional systems. The services will rely on a redesigned logistics system enabling seamless freight flows by minimising delays at intermodal nodes. A digital bird’s eye view of the supply chain allows the exploitation of real-time information for planning optimisation and reconfiguration to support resilient logistics, incl. digitalised administrative procedures. The SEAMLESS building blocks will be verified and validated by conducting full-scale demonstrations in selected real-world scenarios. Transferability will be fully demonstrated in selected use cases that cover a wide range of transport applications and geographical regions throughout Europe. Based on a structured methodological framework evaluating sustainability criteria, they will act as guidance for the replication of the project results beyond the project scope and timespan. Novel business models will be thus developed and provide a framework for implementing the SEAMLESS service to minimise investment risk for first movers. Regulatory gaps and challenges related to autonomous vessel operation (e.g. social aspects) will be identified, and recommendations for policy makers to allow the smooth and safe deployment of fully automated services will be provided.

IKIGAI, inspired by the Japanese concept combining “iki” (meaning “alive”) and “gai” (meaning “worth”), aims to accelerate the realisation of the PI by 2040 and achieve decarbonised freight transport and logistics by 2050. The project focuses on the establishment of affordable, collaborative, and coordinated Systems of Logistics Networks across Europe. It promotes the adoption of open standardised processes to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions, aligning with the UN 2030 sustainable development agenda. IKIGAI will scale up five complementary and forward-looking Logistics Innovations (LIs) (advancing them from TRL5 to 8, looking also into other scalability aspects e.g. regulation, market and social), building collaboration on shared resources and capacity, respect, openness, transparency and trust: [LI1] Online and offline trustee matchmaking and volume pooling for electrification and increased intermodality, [LI2] eFTI compliance Collaborative Service Platform for SMEs, [LI3] Smart and synchromodal hubs for hyperconnected urban logistics, [LI4] Intelligent, standard end-to-end chain of custody for carbon emission calculation, [LI5] Open volume pooled governance for reusable standard modular boxes. Recognising that companies can better evolve collaboratively, aligning logistics and decarbonisation within a unified transition path, IKIGAI will drive the Twin Transition to net-zero logistics by mobilising an open and collaborative ecosystem of global supply chain players committed to systemic change. Beyond adopting the LIs and testing them in real-world pilots, IKIGAI will re-engineer supply chain logistics services (Sx) such as volume pooling/asset sharing, warehousing, freight forwarding/intermodality, cross-docking and last-mile delivery.