Dockworx wins European startup prize for inland shipping
Dockworx, the company behind Bargeplanner, has won the River Mobility prize of the European Startup Prize for Mobility 2026. That makes us the only Dutch winner this year.
On Wednesday evening, 14 October, we received the prize at Luxembourg Venture Days. The River Mobility prize is awarded by Voies navigables de France (VNF), which manages some 6,700 kilometres of rivers and canals in France. It is the third time VNF has partnered with the prize.
A prize for the people behind transport
Most winners work on technical innovations, such as batteries and new fuels. We were the only nominee focused on crew, and the only one from inland shipping.
Where others work on technical solutions, we focus on the human side of mobility. It may be a less eye-catching kind of innovation, but a vessel does not sail without a complete crew. That the French waterways authority and a European jury recognise this underlines that inland shipping will remain very much a people business for the foreseeable future.
We see that every day at the shipping companies that work with Bargeplanner. A vessel may only sail with a complete crew, in the right roles and with valid certificates. Crew members live together on board for half the year, so the make-up of a team matters. And with the shortage of qualified crew, a replacement is not always easy to find. Planners put that puzzle together again every day. Bargeplanner gives them the overview to do it.
About the European Startup Prize for Mobility
The prize was founded in 2017 by Karima Delli, then chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, together with Boston Consulting Group and Via ID. Since this year, TUM Venture Labs of the Technical University of Munich is also a co-founder. Partners include the European Investment Bank and the European Innovation Council.
Europe's mobility innovators are developing solutions that can make transport cleaner, safer and more accessible. Our responsibility is to help them reach the people and places that need them. These awards bring that ambition into focus and connect the winning teams with partners who can help turn it into everyday reality.
This was the seventh edition. Earlier ceremonies were held at the European Parliament and in Monaco, among other places. This year, the ceremony was broadcast live by The Brussels Times.
From 430 applications to the winners
This year, more than 430 mobility startups from across Europe competed. Nearly a hundred independent experts assessed the applications on nine criteria, including innovation, market results, climate impact and growth potential across Europe. A jury then interviewed the thirty strongest candidates.
In the end, the organisers select a Top 10 and ten special prizes, for example for rail and for maritime transport. Each special prize is awarded together with a partner, from the European Investment Bank to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. For inland shipping, that partner is VNF.
Thank you
Thank you to the organisers of the European Startup Prize for Mobility and to VNF for this recognition. And to every shipping company that thinks along with us and works with Bargeplanner every day: we would not have been on that stage without you.
Read more about the prize and the other winners at startupprize.eu. Curious how Bargeplanner works? Request a demo.
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