A sector-wide strategy for accelerating climate action while building competitive advantage on Europe’s inland waterways
At New York Energy Week 2025, Sascha Gill, CEO of United Waterways, addresses a central challenge facing maritime transport: how to decarbonize the river cruise industry without sacrificing commercial viability. As the head of one of Europe’s largest white-label cruise operators, with a fleet of more than 120 vessels, Gill brings both operational insight and strategic foresight to the discussion.
Gill makes it clear that the decarbonization of river cruising is not a matter of aspiration—it is a mandate. Regulations across the European Union impose a net-zero target by 2050, but customers, communities, and local regulators demand faster results. “We’re operating under a 25-year regulatory timeline,” Gill explains, “but the real pressure is to show progress in the next 10 years.”
This urgency prompts a fundamental shift in strategy. United Waterways, together with IG RiverCruise, the industry’s leading association, develops a roadmap rooted in practicality, scalability, and business logic. It is not enough to retrofit one ship or trial one technology. The solution must span the entire sector.
Responding to a Compressed Timeline
Gill identifies the gap between regulatory deadlines and societal expectations. While the EU defines a 2050 horizon for full decarbonization, most stakeholders—including passengers, municipalities, and environmental groups—expect visible progress by 2035. This compresses the strategic window to act and accelerates the pace of innovation.
In response, the river cruise industry pursues a three-pronged strategy:
-
Retrofitting existing vessels with updated engines and hybrid systems;
-
Replacement, constructing new vessels designed from inception to run on low-emission fuels; and
-
Relocation, repositioning ships to regions or routes where decarbonization can be implemented more quickly and cost-effectively.
This framework allows operators to balance short-term feasibility with long-term transformation, offering a practical pathway to achieve near-term emissions reductions.
Coordinating as a Sector, Not as Single Actors
Gill emphasizes that no single vessel or company can solve this transition alone. “A single ship does not create a viable business case,” he asserts. “Only a coordinated, sector-wide effort can scale the infrastructure and attract the funding needed.”
Under the leadership of IG RiverCruise, the industry commissions a comprehensive research program to develop a sector-wide proof of concept. This includes data on vessel energy needs, infrastructure gaps, and fuel scenarios for key river corridors. The analysis spans 380 cruise vessels and more than 16,000 cargo vessels across Europe, offering a detailed picture of energy demand, sailing patterns, and operational profiles.
Through this shared intelligence, the industry identifies what fuels can be used where, what infrastructure is missing, and what levels of investment are required to deploy decarbonization at scale.
Net-Zero vs. Zero: The Business Logic of Transition
Gill draws an important distinction between zero-emissions technologies and net-zero solutions. While full zero-emissions options like high-temperature hydrogen fuel cells may eventually offer ideal environmental outcomes, their cost and complexity create barriers to near-term implementation.
In contrast, net-zero solutions—such as battery-electric systems, onshore power connections, and drop-in biofuels—offer higher technological readiness and better cost-performance ratios today. These technologies enable significant reductions in CO₂ emissions without disrupting operations or overwhelming capital budgets.
Gill argues that focusing exclusively on perfect solutions delays progress. “It’s the pace of implementation, not just the technology itself, that will determine our climate impact,” he says. Net-zero, he maintains, is the pragmatic path forward for the river cruise sector over the next decade.
Recognizing Geographic Realities
One of the report’s most valuable insights is that decarbonization is inherently geographic. No single fuel or system works universally across Europe’s rivers. In shorter, electrically connected stretches like Bordeaux, shore power and battery-electric systems are viable. In longer routes—such as from Amsterdam to Budapest—energy-dense fuels like methanol or HVO are essential to maintain operational range.
As a result, future-ready river vessels are expected to run on multiple energy sources. Gill’s team outlines a hybrid model:
-
Electricity for storage and peak shaving;
-
Advanced biodiesel or e-diesel for flexible operations;
-
Methanol as a scalable drop-in fuel that balances energy density and retrofit feasibility.
Dual-fuel engines and modular power systems allow ships to adjust their energy use depending on route and infrastructure availability—enhancing both resilience and efficiency.
Planning for Multiple Futures
To mitigate uncertainty and future-proof their investments, United Waterways conducts a detailed foresight study, mapping out three primary scenarios:
-
Liquid Fuels Dominate – A model centered on biodiesel and methanol.
-
Electrons Dominate – A strategy focused on electricity and shore power.
-
Methanol Momentum – A scenario in which methanol emerges as the sector’s standard fuel.
Each scenario is evaluated for fuel availability, pricing volatility, and infrastructure requirements. This enables operators to remain agile and adapt strategies as market and policy dynamics evolve.
Financing the Transition
Gill acknowledges that none of this is possible without investment. Fortunately, the European Union provides over €40 billion in decarbonization funding, with similar incentives emerging in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia. However, access to public funding depends on clearly defined sector strategies—demonstrating technological readiness, regional feasibility, and long-term financial return.
To unlock this capital, the business case must be grounded in data, coordinated across operators, and aligned with public policy goals. “Funding follows clarity,” Gill notes. “Without a strategy, there is no support.”
A Blueprint for Climate-Aligned Maritime Operations
The model developed by United Waterways offers more than a transition plan for river cruising—it serves as a template for decarbonization across the broader maritime sector. By combining shared research, regional planning, and pragmatic fuel strategies, the sector builds a path to net-zero that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.
The key lessons are clear:
-
Sector coordination is essential for scale.
-
Net-zero options deliver faster progress than zero-emission ideals.
-
Multiple fuels and technologies are needed, tailored to specific routes.
-
Scenario planning provides resilience amid market and policy volatility.
-
Clear strategies unlock public funding and accelerate implementation.
From Transition to Transformation
Sascha Gill’s vision is grounded, actionable, and deeply aligned with the realities of both business and sustainability. It is not a call for disruption, but for orchestration. By working as a sector, planning with precision, and investing in what works today, the river cruise industry is not only reducing emissions—it is rewriting its future.
In a global energy landscape where ambition too often exceeds execution, the decarbonization journey of river cruising stands as a model of what thoughtful leadership and coordinated action can achieve.
