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Wärtsilä to develop autonomous, zero-emission barge for Port of Rotterdam Finland-based technology group Wärtsilä is embarking on a project to develop and demonstrate an autonomous, zero-emission barge for the Rotterdam Port Authority.
The endeavor is part of a research project, nicknamed sMArt Green Ports as Integrated Efficient multimodal hubs (MAGPIE), which was borne out of a collaboration between the port authorities of Rotterdam, DeltaPort, HAROPA and Sines. The project is being pursued in partnership with 10 research institutions and over 30 companies in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Portugal and Denmark.
sensor tech with navigation systems for safe, automated ship movement.
Earlier this month, the alliance was awarded nearly € 25 million ($30.4 million) in EU funding to implement projects aimed at sustainable and smart port logistics. It also involves the development of a plan on making port transport carbon-free by 2050.
“We believe that overland transport modes will not be able to absorb the emerging capacity bottleneck for internal container movement. So, we will be delivering an autonomous e-barge concept that can greatly enhance efficiency in the Port of Rotterdam through automated seaborne cargo transshipment. Our ambition is to see these container shuttles introduced into a smart logistics network within the next few years,” says Hendrik Busshoff, Business Development Engineer, Wärtsilä Voyage.
Wärtsilä Corporation, as the largest industrial partner of MAGPIE, is set to receive the biggest portion of the grant to demonstrate a commercially viable autonomous intra-port inter-terminal container shuttle. The shuttle aims to address the issue of an emerging capacity bottleneck for internal container transportation. The technology company said that the installation onboard the vessel will include several of its solutions, such as SmartMove Suite, a unique pairing of
Developing autonomous shipping operations has been high on the priority list for Wärtsilä. Namely, the company has been working for years with Singapore-based towage services provider PSA Marine on the IntelliTug autonomous ship project to demonstrate some of its solutions.
The barge is also set to be fitted with electric propulsion enabled by an electric drive train and an interchangeable battery container solution, which is charged using renewable power. The technology would make the barge emission-free.
