A toast to green inland navigation
The ‘Alphenaar’, the first Dutch inland vessel to use interchangeable energy containers for propulsion, entered operations for Zero Emission Services (ZES) on 6 September 2021.
ZES, a Dutch company aimed at making inland waterway shipping more sustainable, was founded by a consortium of ING Bank, energy provider Engie, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Wärtsilä last year.
Now, the new vessel is sailing between Alphen aan den Rijn and Moerdijk transporting beer for Heineken, ZES’s first end customer.
The energy containers are standard teu filled with batteries, which are charged with green electricity at charging stations like the CCT terminal in Alphen aan den Rijn. The system enables the vessel to operate on full electric power alone, with no carbon emissions being generated. ZES’s aim is to quickly establish a fleet of eight vessels, eight loading stations and fourteen energy containers. (cd)