On 29 May 2025, a public meeting was held in Mantua to showcase the Italian outcomes of the European Cristal project, financed by the European Union with a total allocation of 6.8 million euros. In Italy, the project targeted the Padano-Veneto waterway, identified as a pilot project alongside two other river infrastructures in France and Poland. The project's objectives include increasing the volume of goods transported via inland waterways by at least 20%, improving their reliability and usability by 80%, and ensuring adequate functioning even during extreme weather events.
In Italy, the Cristal project was coordinated by Unioncamere, with technical support from Uniontrasporti, the chamber system’s competence centre for logistics and sustainable mobility. AIPo, Enea, Infrastrutture Venete and Sogesca also actively contributed. Their joint work enabled a comprehensive approach to inland navigation, with a focus on both technological innovation and the creation of more effective governance.
One of the most innovative developments during the project was the creation of a digital twin of the waterway, a tool that allows real-time simulation and monitoring of the corridor’s condition. Alongside this, a synchromodal management system was developed to integrate river, rail and road transport. The goal is to create a fluid intermodal system capable of offering greater flexibility in goods movement.
AIPo played a key role in developing a ten-day forecasting model for the navigability of the Po River, based on statistical data processing and artificial intelligence, in collaboration with Enea. These forecasts are disseminated through a dedicated information bulletin, the “smart bulletin”, which provides a constant overview of navigation conditions along the river’s critical stretches. This tool is proving essential for planning activities by both commercial and tourist operators, as well as by managing authorities, particularly in organising dredging operations and allocating resources.
In parallel, Enea tested an innovative technology that uses fibre optic sensors placed on the riverbed to detect the presence and height of sediment deposits that may hinder navigation. These sensors enable targeted maintenance interventions, optimising time and resources while reducing the environmental impact of operations.
Infrastrutture Venete conducted a feasibility study on the electrification of quays along the Fissero-Tartaro-Canalbianco Po di Levante canal. The intervention, aimed at reducing emissions in inland ports, included mapping mooring points, engaging operators and conducting a detailed technical and economic assessment. The results led to the definition of a progressive strategy for the adoption of cold ironing, with solutions that can also be replicated on other waterways such as the Litoranea Veneta.
Sogesca contributed to the project by analysing the compliance of environmental and climate adaptation procedures adopted by public and private stakeholders operating along the waterway. However, its most significant contribution was arguably the drafting of the “Manifesto for the sustainable development of the Padano-Veneto waterway system”, the result of a participatory process carried out through living labs. The document was shared during the public meeting and serves as an important synthesis tool, bringing together the needs and proposals of administrations, businesses, research institutions and citizens.
The manifesto highlights the critical issues currently affecting the system – from fragmented governance to poor modal integration, from regulatory gaps to weak infrastructure – and proposes the development of a unified masterplan. This strategic document should guide the coordinated management of the entire waterway corridor, promote integration with the trans-European Ten-T networks, and strengthen the climate resilience of infrastructure, while revitalising both commercial and tourist navigation along the Po and its connecting canals.
According to those involved in the project, waterways – especially free-flowing ones like the Po – will increasingly have to face challenges related to environmental sustainability and operational reliability. The Cristal project, through its Italian pilot, has demonstrated how digital technologies, artificial intelligence, energy planning and active involvement of local stakeholders can offer practical and replicable solutions.
As noted by Luca Zanetta of Uniontrasporti, the solutions developed can serve as a model for other European contexts. Remo Passoni and Luca Crose of AIPo highlighted the role of the smart bulletin in transport planning and the operational management of personnel and dredging activities. Sonia Giovinazzi of Enea underlined the effectiveness of real-time monitoring made possible by the combined use of artificial intelligence and fibre optic sensors, while Alessandra Grosso of Infrastrutture Venete described quay electrification as a strategic intervention to encourage shifting freight traffic from roads to waterways. Rose Ortolani of Sogesca finally emphasised the importance of the participatory process, which brought together the previously fragmented voices of waterway operators, laying the foundations for a more cohesive, resilient and forward-looking system.
