EU CargoXpress is going to develop a groundbreaking innovative cargo vessel to meet the expectations of green transport and contributing to decongesting of Europe¿s roads. It gives particular attention to the role of SMEs not only in the composition of the consortium (2 out of 6 industry partners are SMEs plus 6 research institutions and a public body) but also when delivering the design of the cargo vessel of the future which is particularly suited for the small and medium sized European Shipyards and equipment suppliers. The vessel Concept EU-CargoXpress goes far beyond existing approaches from aspects of :

• ship equipment (combined superstructure with bridge, crane and sail)
• new propulsion Concept (superconducting energy conversion, PODs)
• ship structure (lightweight fit for serial production)
• maintenance (modularised/ standardised and ¿boxed¿ equipment for immediate exchange rather than repair on board)
• ship operation (sailor in home base, through fixed routes) and promotes a logistic philosophy which has the potential to revolutionize the Short Sea Shipping (SSS) business in the Motorways-of-the-Sea.

It follows the Ryanair approach which has developed service to hundreds of small airports.EU-CARGOEXPRESS will do a similar thing it provides a high tech vessel for medium and small marine or fluvial ports to shorten considerably the remaining road-transport. This will clearly impact on CO2 and other pollutants emission. First calculations show a potential of total fuel savings of 10,3 Mt/year which accounts for 0,63 % of total EU25 energy consumption per year, when applying the concept to the next 3000 newbuildings for SSS.