Waterborne Days 2025 took place on February 4-5 in Brussels, Belgium, celebrating 20 years of the Waterborne Technology Platform and our project coordinator Konstantinos Voutzoulidis proudly represented HS4U.
The event brought together experts, researchers, and policymakers to discuss the future of water transport, focusing on sustainability and innovation. More than 300 delegates attended the event, showcasing results of European projects and discussing the future research, development and innovation needs of the European waterborne sector, including the deployment of innovations. The event featured six-panel discussions, each focusing on a different type of ship, offering a broad perspective on advancements in the waterborne sector.
Participants also took part in various workshops, including topics like sustainable alternative fuels for water transport, funding and financing for the European maritime industry, and interactive sessions on the future industrial maritime strategy and port strategy. Throughout the event, speakers highlighted the need for strong collaboration between industry, governments, and other stakeholders to drive progress in the sector. One of the highlights was the Waterborne Awards, which recognised outstanding projects in the industry. The awards and its categories are presented below:
➔ Environmental impact and climate change: Engimmonia – The EU-funded Engimmonia project is at the forefront of revolutionising the maritime industry by significantly reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By delving deep into the intricacies of ammonia combustion, the project is paving the way for its seamless integration into ship engines, powering both propulsion and onboard power generation. This groundbreaking approach holds the potential to drastically reduce CO2 emissions from the current levels to a remarkable zero.
➔ Innovation: SHYpS – the EU-funded SHYpS project is supporting the integration of a hydrogen-based fuel cell system on board multiple types of vessels. Researchers aim to design a hydrogen plant to ensure safe handling, containment and usage of the fuel on board. Project activities are an important step towards transitioning the maritime industry away from fossil fuels.
➔ Economic Viability: Mari4_Yard– the EU-funded Mari4_YARD project leveraged the potential of the Internet of things (IoT), mobile and ubiquitous ICT tools, and robotics for implementing a novel 
connected shipyard, offering the European shipbuilding the opportunity to stay at the leading edge. Specifically, the project implemented a portfolio of worker-centric solutions by relying on novel collaborative robotics and ubiquitous portable solutions.
➔ Outstanding innovation: Engimmonia – the EU-funded project Engimmonia focuses on the implementation of innovative technology on board different ship types. This provides the opportunity for deep GHG-emissions reductions as well as reduction of other pollutants.
Several EU-funded research projects were also showcased, sharing their latest findings and innovations. These projects, supported by Horizon Europe, are working towards a more sustainable and digital future for the maritime sector, like HS4U which aims to revolutionise shipping design and offers a bottom-up evidence approach extending current standardised design and regulatory paradigms toward the shipping industry while promoting principles of modularisation and optimisation.
Waterborne Days 2025 marked an important milestone for shaping the future of eco-friendly water transport, bringing together key players to collaborate and drive progress in the industry!
