Sustainable fuel & emissions tracking for net zero voyages

PROJECT ID

SME Name:

Boat Bike Tours

Country:

The Netherlands

Subsector:

Tour Operator / Travel Agency

*Thematic Axis and Specific Topic:

  • Axis: Green transition and climate-conscious practices
  • Topic: Sustainable mobility

*These are Cross-Re-Tour-specific thematic axes inspired by the Transition Pathway for Tourism. The thematic axis were chosen based on what category best reflects the main contributions of the project.

PROJECT SUMMARY & NEEDS

Project summary

At the heart of the project is the Net Zero Cloud, a tool that brings together real-time data on CO2 emissions across offices and vessels, covering fuel consumption and shore power usage. Alongside this, a fuel monitoring system will enable continuous energy tracking on ships, supporting more precise and effective CO2 reduction strategies.

Exploitation Area(s):

  • Energy
  • Mobility
  • Food

SME needs adressed:

  • Reduce environmental footprint
  • Improve resource efficiency

OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES

Solution implemented

Technical: Onboard energy monitoring system across vessel fleet, smart meters

Digital: Real-time dashboards, Net Zero Cloud tool integration

Cross-Domain Innovation element

The project bridges the tourism, maritime, and digital technology sectors by applying real-time cloud-based monitoring tools – more commonly associated with industrial energy management – to passenger vessel operations, it introduces a data-driven sustainability layer to leisure travel.

Key ouputs:

  • A Net Zero Cloud tool visualising CO₂ emissions from vessels and offices, covering fuel, shore power, and menu choices;
  • An onboard fuel and energy monitoring system providing captains with real-time dashboards.

Key outcomes (Quantitative)

  • Fuel reduction: Over the 2 seasons the ships are using the innovation, a reduction of approximately 13% – 14% in fuel use has been achieved.

Key outcomes (Qualitative)

  • 90% of tasks have been automated: Previously, fuel data collection was a manual process, with a single estimated value for the entire year delivered at the end of the season. With the implementation of fuel meters, daily readings are now available for each individual ship component – including the main generator, main engine, and boiler – providing a far more granular and accurate picture of energy consumption across the fleet;
  • Adoption rate: 2 pilot ships were included in the Cross-Re-Tour project. Now 19 ships are equipped.

Lesson(s) learned:

A key lesson from this project is that making data visible to the people who can act on it is essential for driving real behavioural change. By placing real-time energy dashboards directly in the hands of captains rather than back-office managers, Boat Bike Tours shortened the loop between insight and action, enabling more immediate and targeted decisions on fuel and power consumption.

CONTACTS

Website / Social Media

https://www.boatbiketours.nl/