Green light for methanol-powered tug
The port of Antwerp is set to become the first hub in the world to convert a tug to methanol propulsion. The move is part of the European Union-funded ‘Fastwater’ project, which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of methanol as a sustainable marine fuel.
Rhine-based inland navigation craft used to be forbidden from using methanol as a marine fuel, but now the European Commission has completed 18 months of negotiations and approved a project funded through Horizon 2020, a European research and innovation programme. The vessel, dubbed the ‘methatug’, is expected be operational by early 2022.
The port of Antwerp is supplying the tugboat; the Belgian engineering company Multi carried out a feasibility study; Swedish shipbuilder Scandinaos designed the modifications; the Anglo-Belgian Corporation (ABC) is in charge of converting the engine and installing the methanol tanks and pipes; and the German company Heinzmann is adapting the injectors. (cd)
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