(Photo Credit: Zero Emission Services)Finnish marine and energy technology company Wärtsilä and several partners announced plans this week to collaborate on developing an emissions-free barge system. Heineken signed on to use the new emissions-free system to transport beer in the Netherlands.
Wärtsilä, along with ING Bank, Engie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority formed a consortium called Zero Emission Services (ZES) to make inland waterway shipping more sustainable. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is supporting the effort as well.
“Within the Netherlands transport sector, inland navigation accounts for 5% of carbon dioxide emissions,” Wärtsilä and the ZES partners said. “By switching from diesel-fueled propulsion to fully electrically powered transport, an important step can be taken towards realizing the Paris Climate Agreement goals.”
The plan for barge operators is to deploy replaceable battery containers, called ZESPacks, that can be charged using renewable energy sources, according to the partners. A network of open access charging points would allow depleted battery containers to be exchanged for ready-charged replacements, minimizing wait time.
“ZESPacks are designed for multiple applications, enabling them to be utilized for temporary onshore use, such as stabilizing the local electricity grid, or meeting short-term demand for electrical power,” the partners said. They added that the concept has flexibility to allow for the use of hydrogen technology, should that become a viable alternative in the future.
Project partners developed a pay-per-use financing model they said should make it easier for barge operators to participate. ZES would only charge for the cost of renewable energy consumed along with a rental fee for the battery container. In order to participate, however, vessels need an electric propulsion line.
Heineken signed a 10-year agreement with ZES for emissions-free beer shipments from their brewery in Zoeterwoude to Moerdijk in the Netherlands.
Wärtsilä and the other consortium partners say that the emissions-free system will initially be installed along the Zoeterwoude–Alpherium–Moerdijk corridor in the Netherlands, with an emphasis on converted and newly built container carriers. After that, plans call for an expansion to include the Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp corridor, making a connection to Nijmegen.
