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Water Transport Decarbonization: Preliminary Case Study in Venice

Conference Paper · March 2023

DOI: 10.1109/ESARS-ITEC57127.2023.10114836

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 Water Transport Decarbonization:
Preliminary Case Study in Venice
Alessandro Saldarini Cristian Giovanni Colombo Michela Longo
Department of Energy Department of Energy Department of Energy
Politecnico di Milano Politecnico di Milano Politecnico di Milano
Milan, Italy Milan, Italy Milan, Italy
alessandro.saldarini@polimi.it cristiangiovanni.colombo@polimi.it michela.longo@polimi.it

Morris Brenna Seyed Mahdi Miraftabzadeh Wahiba Yaici

Department of Energy Department of Energy CanmetENERGY Research Centre
Politecnico di Milano Politecnico di Milano Natural Resources Canada
Milan, Italy Milan, Italy Ottawa, Canada
morris.brenna@polimi.it seyedmahdi.miraftabzadeh@polimi.it wahiba.yaici@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

Abstract— In order to improve the current existing water public
transport service, this paper aims to electrification of water taxis
in Venice, a widely used means of transportation in the lagoon
city by tourists. In particular, the section that connects square
San Marco to Marco Polo airport is analysed, which is the one
with the greatest distance. Following a brief introduction to
landscape of water transport and its infrastructure in the city of
Venice, this paper presents the modeling of the electric water
taxi taking into account the needs and peculiarities of the boat
and of the city itself. Subsequent, an agent-based approach using
the AnyLogic software tool simulates the round trip, calculating
energy consumption and analyze the state of charge profile.
Keywords—Electric Vehicle, Mobility, Lagoon Transport,
Passenger Transport, Water-Taxi
I. INTRODUCTION
Transport sector represent one of the most pollutant sector
in terms of CO2 emissions, second only to the electricity
generation one [1,2]. Among the first sector, the water
transport one plays an important role in transport economy.
More than the 80% of the global trade is moved by boat, and
this behaviour is increasing. This trend is respected also with
people transportation: from the 24 millions of passengers in
2017 to the 30 millions of passengers expected for 2024 [3].
Even if the largest part of Green House Gasses (GHG)
emissions is related to large ships, which perform long
travels, waterborne vehicles have an impact in lagoons, both
for locals and tourists. Moreover, pollutants also can damage
local fauna and beauties, such as for the case of the UNESCO
site of Venice [4,5]. Basing on these considerations, this work
want to implement a preliminary study of lagoon transport
decarbonization in Venice. In Section II the case study is
implemented, starting from the selection of the vehicle for the
electrification of the service and then, a representative path
covered by the vehicle is selected. The selection of the path
is linked to the length and the motions to cover it, which
maximize the consumptions. Thus, to implement the service,
is evaluated the possibility to insert charging infrastructure to
supply the vehicles while they are waiting for passengers.
Then in order to implement the case study, also the model
with the active and resistive forces is presented. Thus, in
Section III the proposed AnyLogic model is described.
Therefore, in Section IV results and final considerations are
added to the speed and the energy profiles. Finally,
conclusions remark the importance of decarbonization of the
sector.
II. CASE STUDY: VENETIAN LAGOON TRANSPORT
Focusing on the city of Venice, water transport among the
general modal share, is the most commonly used; in fact,
historically, the locals invested in maritime and water
transport, which use public or private boats almost every day.
The traffic among canals is composed by private transport
small boats to move around the city and gondolas, typical
venetian boat, while for public service, the most used boats
are Vaporetto, a larger boat useful to move about 200 peoples
and water-taxi, boats used by locals and tourists able to move
up to 12 passengers [6,7]. Considering the high tourist flux,
responsible of the high use of the boat mentioned, the
environmental issue became of significant interest. ISTAT
2019 data, confirmed that the maximum PM10 limit to
preserve health was significantly overcome [8]. Venice’s
structure is defined by a system of stilts, which implements a
system of networks and internal canals allowing the
movements of the navigators, who follow strict rules on the
behaviours to adopt. Among these rules , the speed
limitations are considered; speed limitations in the internal
canals of the city varies from 5 to7 km/h, while for the larger
canals and outside the city it is possible to reach 11 and 20
km/h [9]. In order to manage the taxi service, the most used
in the city, the municipality positioned dedicated spaces as
docking points, where taxis are available to provide their
service. The boat stations are shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Venetian lagoon and water taxi stations.
A. Vehicle and path selection
In this context, it is worth of investigation the possibility
of decarbonization for the lagoon transport, in order to reduce
air pollution, increasing the life quality of the locals.
Therefore, starting from the selection of an electric water-taxi
and the identification of the routes, it is evaluated the
electrification of the water-taxi service in Venice.
The boat selected for the implementation of this study is
provided by 12 seats, with a mass of 4.04 tons, provided by
an electric motor which power is 100 kW, and a storage
system of 80 kWh. With this configuration, the vehicle can
theoretically perform 110 km, at the constant speed of 10
km/h [10]. Once the electric vehicle is selected it is necessary
to understand which are the path of interest crossed by them.
Considering the high traffic of tourists coming from the
airport and the complexity of the model for the motion, the
path connecting Venice airport terminal and San Marco
square, reported in Fig. 2, is the most appropriate to perform
the study.
Fig. 2. Waterway connection between San Marco square and airport
terminal.
The route considered is 9.9 km long and to analyse the motion
on it, the division in different segments can be useful,
considering the different speed limitations the vehicle must
respect. According to speed limitation, the maximum
acceleration that the vehicle can perform is 0.5 m/s2. Speed is
a parameter that affect the resistances at which the boat is
subjected, therefore a shift in the speed, corresponds to a
variation in the resistances, which significantly affects the
energetic consumptions [11]. As reported in the Fig. 2 it is
possible to spread the path in 4 sections, depending on the
speed of the taxi. In Table I are reported the characteristics of
the path.
TABLE I. PATH SPEED CHARACTERISTICS
Section Distance [km] Speed [km/h]
A-B 0.2-2.9 0-7
B-C 2.9-5.005 7-11
C-D 5.005-8.3 11-20
D-E 8.3-9.9 20-0
It is also worth to notice that the investigation of this
specific case study can be representative in terms of
reliability of electric boats for the taxi service since this path
is also the longest among the existing ones. Basing on the
necessity of the continuous taxi service in the city of Venice,
in order to decarbonize this system, it became necessary to
have an electric infrastructure able to provide power the boats
at the terminals of the route, since the touristic traffic allows
only short breaks for the charging phase of the vehicle. In
2020 was launched the project E-dock for the implementation
of charging poles, similar to mooring mast in order to
minimize the visual impact of the charging columns. This
charging infrastructure can provide in AC 22 kW of power to
supply the vehicle while it is not operating [12]. In order to
be able to sustain the service, the charging stations mentioned
are located in San Marco square and at the venetian airport
terminal.
Fig. 3. Electric charging station from E-Dock project.
B. Model implementation
In order to implement a reliable simulation able to provide
the consumption that affects a water taxi in the lagoon it is
necessary to define the resistances to the motion. In Fig. 4 is
presented the model where the forces are described [13,14].
Fig. 4. Force diagram for a water taxi.
In the model described the forces taken into account, can be
active, which follows the direction of the motion, and
reactive, or resistive, therefore on the opposite direction. In
the model are considered:
• 𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡 : the active force corresponding to the tractive effort of
the boat;
• 𝑅𝑅𝑑𝑑 : the resistance linked to the viscous friction between
water and hull;
• 𝑅𝑅𝑤𝑤 : the resistance generated by the presence of waves;
• 𝑅𝑅𝑎𝑎 : the aerodynamic resistance.
It must be noted that the sum of the three resistances is strictly
dependent from the speed of the vehicle. In order to maximize
the consumptions and analyze the worst-case condition, in the
four different sections, reported in Table I, it is considered the
maximum speed possible for the specific section. Following
this hypothesis in the 4 sections the motion is approximated IV. RESULTS ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
as uniform rectilinear, instead of uniformly accelerated, All the results of the round trip along the shipping lane are
leading to a maximization of the resistances, thus of the summarized below. The overall trip takes around 1 h and 40
consumptions [15]. Basing on this consideration, the power min; 55 min for the San Marco-airport trip and 45 min for the
consumption 𝑃𝑃𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 , for the boat moving at the speed 𝑣𝑣𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 is return one. One direction is slightly faster than the other due
described following (1), where 𝑅𝑅𝑖𝑖 are the resistances at a higher average driving speed. The total distance traveled
involved in the motion. is around 19.8 km exactly split in half as the water taxi walk
𝑃𝑃 = 𝑣𝑣 (𝐹𝐹 + � 𝑅𝑅 ) (1) the same path in both directions. Fig. 5 shows the real speed
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑡𝑡 𝑖𝑖
profile of the outward and return journey, obtained from the
simulation of the model. The horizontal segments reflect the
III. MODEL DESCRIPTION default speed limits of the route traveled. When the water
After modeling the electric vehicle, it is necessary to taxi is traveling around one of these limits the speed is kept
proceed to model description. The aim is to verify the constant while in specific distance the speed is forced to
possible electrification of the water taxi service in Venice, change several times, due to the variations in accelerations
and studying timing, and consumption of case study. To do and decelerations. To allow docking at the quay, the water
this, it is first necessary to conduct in-depth research on the taxi decelerates to a speed of 5 km/h, so as to respect the
service, operation of the boat. In fact, following an interview speed limit in the small canals [17]. Zero values of speed
with the director of the RES Maritima company and the head mean that the water taxi is stopped.
of water transport in Venice, we are able to better understand
the criticalities and the needs of both the service that is carried
out daily in the Venetian lagoon. Once this work is
completed, it is possible to create a study model using the
multi-method simulation AnyLogic software [16]. AnyLogic
is a simulation program for industrial and commercial
applications. It includes a graphical modeling language, state
diagrams, flowcharts, and even allows users to extend the
simulation model with Java code. Additionally, the software
combines his three paradigms of simulation modeling
(discrete-event, agent-based, and system-dynamic) to create
highly complex simulation models. Since the aim of this
study is to convert water taxi service to full electric and
Fig. 5. Real speed profile water taxi
highlight the barriers of electrification in a given area, a
microscopic modeling approach can be used to better The results obtained from the simulation are used here for
understand the impact of a given electric vehicle. In this case, the heart of the analysis: energy evaluation consumption to
a microscopic approach is preferred to a macroscopic one, research the most suitable charging solution. By setting all
since the second method does not take into account the the parameters in the AnyLogic model, the energy profile
behavior of individual vehicles and their decision-making required for the water taxi during the round trip is shown in
processes, such as where, when and for how long to charge Fig. 6. According to calculations, the total value of energy
the batteries but is incredibly more efficient from a consumed is approximately 33.6 kWh, divided equally for
computational point of view, to support the development of both routes. The peaks of energy consumption occur, as
new charging infrastructures or to predict traffic flows in the expected, in the acceleration sections.
various components of the transport system.
The model developed consists of three agents: Naval
Route (San Marco-airport), Charging Station, and Electric
Vehicle. Agents are the main building blocks of AnyLogic
models and are the units of model design that can have
behavior, memory (history), timing, and connection. The
model is solved iteratively, each iteration, lasting one second,
introducing a variation of the agent's travel plans. Necessary
and important stage is to enter the input data in order to
characterize the Electric Vehicle Agent, with the
characteristics corresponding (e.g., engine power, weight,
charging connections, type, and battery capacity on-board).
In addition, special attention is paid to data calibration (e.g. Fig. 6. Energy profile of the roundtrip.
battery charging procedure) to validate modeling methods
and results. To limit the size of the model, some assumptions Power consumption affects the State of Charge (SoC),
on charging are made. Charging is done at the highest which is shown in Fig. 7. In detail, the SoC profile of the
possible power (depending on battery and charger round trip is shown for two different scenarios: the case with
limitations) and does not take into account load losses. the initial SoC equal to 100% (orange line) and the one with
80% (blue line). The result and SoC trend is the same for the
two scenarios. The percentage consumption of the SoC, for
the outward journey, is approximately 20%, thus reducing the
initial SoC of that value; the same result is obtained for the
return path. Before leaving for the return journey, the water
taxi is charged, at the E-dock recharging infrastructure, with
a power of 22 kW and lasting 45 minutes, so as to replenish
the energy consumed. Overall round-trip water taxi has about
40% reduction in initiated SoC.
Fig. 7. SoC profile water taxi, scenario: SoC 100% (orange line) and
SoC 80% (blue line).
V. CONCLUSION
Considering the worldwide trend of decarbonization,
transport sector wants to reach the net-zero emission as soon
as possible, in order to improve the life quality of urban areas
inhabitant and preserving the beauty of the UNESCO sites,
such as the city of Venice. In this context, the possibility of
decarbonizing the transportation in the venetian lagoon is
analysed starting from the electrification of one specific water
taxi transport service; the one connecting the airport and main
square of the city. This work starting from this path, which is
the one with the highest consumptions, want to propose the
possibility to implement for the future a sustainable water taxi
service, thanks to the use of electric boats, helped by low
visual impact charging infrastructures, located at the
terminals of the path. Basing on these assumptions, from San
Marco the boat consumes 33.6 kWh to reach the airport and
going back, divided equally for both routes. At the terminals
it is able to charge up to the maximum SoC considered in 45
minutes, highlighting a Dept of Discharge (DoD) about the
20%. Considering the consumption of one complete
roundtrip and the boat on-board capacity, the vehicle is able
to perform it also without charging, having a DoD about the
40%. Therefore, according to the consumptions and the
charging time, and considering the developing of the
technology in this sector, for the next future the
decarbonization of the lagoon traffic, will became a topic of
interest for citizens and public authorities, which can
incentivize this shift.
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