Port of Antwerp-Bruges and CMB.TECH will soon welcome the Hydrotug, the first hydrogen-powered tugboat.
The ship has two BeHydro V12 dual fuel medium speed engines that can run on hydrogen and traditional fuel. This pioneering development is an important step in the port’s transition to a sustainable, climate neutral port by 2050.
At the same time, with the Hydrotug, CMB.TECH confirms its international ground-breaking role in the transition to “green” ships.
CTO of CMB.TECH – Roy Campe, said that “we are delighted that Port of Antwerp-Bruges will be the first user of Hydrotug, the world’s largest hydrogen-powered vessel. The technology has been approved by Lloyd’s Register and we are ready to approach the global market of 10.000 tugs. ”
“With this technology we can significantly improve the air quality in ports and bring hydrogen technology to every port worldwide,” he added.
The Hydrotug can store 415 kg of compressed hydrogen in 6 distillers installed on deck and eliminates the emission’s equivalent to 350 cars.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges manager operations – Rob Smeets, noted, that “recently Port of Antwerp merged with the Port of Zeebrugge into one big organization that aims to reconcile people, climate and economy. Our common goal is to become carbon neutral by 2050, by walking many different sustainability paths, such as carbon capture and storage, and efforts in hydrogen.”
“By 2028 our goal is to have the first green hydrogen molecules on our platforms. Moreover, we are investigating a hydrogen pipeline between the two ports and towards the European hinterland so we can use as much renewable energy as possible. This hydrotug is a fantastic example of what our sustainable future should look like,” he added.
The goal is to deliver the Hydrotug by the end of this year and be fully operational in the first quarter of 2023 in Antwerp.
