World's first electric container barges to sail from European ports this summer. Dubbed the canals' Tesla, the uncrewed vessels will operate on Dutch and Belgian waterways, vastly reducing diesel vehicles and emissions.
Barges In The Netherlands And Belgium
The world's first fully electric, emission-free, and potentially crewless container barges operate from the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam this summer. The vessels, designed to fit beneath bridges as they transport their goods around the inland waterways of Belgium and the Netherlands, are expected to reduce diesel-powered trucks for moving freight vastly. Their electric motors will be driven by 20-foot batteries, charged onshore by the carbon-free energy provider Eneco.
Electric Container Barges
The barges are designed to operate without any crew. However, the vessels will be human-crewed in their first operation as new infrastructure is erected around some of the busiest inland waterways in Europe. In August, five barges - 52 meters long and 6.7m wide and able to carry 24 20ft containers weighing up to 425 tonnes - will be in operation. They will be fitted with a power box giving them 15 hours of power. According to their Dutch manufacturer, Port Liner, the boats have up to 8% extra space as there is no need for a traditional engine room.
World's First Electric Container Barges: The Netherlands
About 23,000 trucks, mainly running on diesel, are expected to be removed from the roads as a result. At a later date, six larger 110m-long barges carrying 270 containers will run on four battery boxes capable of providing 35 hours of autonomous driving. Their use alone could lead to a reduction of about 18,000 tonnes per year of CO2, it is claimed. According to Eurostat's latest statistics, 74.9% of freight in the EU is transported by road, compared to 18.4% by rail, and 6.7% along inland waterways, although the use of water routes has been rising. The barges are being developed in the Netherlands with 7m in subsidies from the EU and additional funds from the ports. Port Liner believes it could produce about 500 barges a year to revolutionize the freight industry, although the electric motors and batteries could also be retrofitted into older boats.
The company's chief executive, Ton van Meegen, told shipping industry trade journal the Loadstar that the barges would be the first in the world to sail on carbon-neutral batteries and that only the low bridges in the low countries prevented them from being loaded with more goods.
Source Daniel Boffey
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