Wärtsilä is planning to build an autonomous intra-port and inter-terminal container shuttle to address an emerging capacity bottleneck for internal container transportation at the Port of Rotterdam.
This will be a part of the research project, nicknamed MAGPIE (sMArt Green Ports as Integrated Efficient multimodal hubs), which was created by the collaboration between the port authorities of Rotterdam, DeltaPort (Germany), HAROPA (France: La Havre, Rouen, Paris) and Sines (Portugal), in partnership with 10 research institutions and over 30 companies in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Portugal and Denmark.
The European Union has decided to finance the international alliance to implement projects aimed at sustainable and smart port logistics to the tune of approximately US$30 million. This involves the development of a grand plan that sets out how transport within, to and from ports can be made carbon-free by 2050.
Wärtsilä, who is the largest industrial partner of MAGPIE, is set to receive the biggest portion of the grant for a sub-project to demonstrate the zero-emission autonomous barge at Port of Rotterdam.
The installation will include several of the latest Wärtsilä solutions, including SmartMove Suite, which provides a pairing of sensor technology with navigation systems for safe, automated ship movement.
“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 transhipment. Our ambition is to see these container shuttles introduced into a smart logistics network within the next few years,” commented Hendrik Busshoff, business development engineer, Wärtsilä Voyage.
Wärtsilä said that electric propulsion will be enabled by means of an electric drive train and a ground-breaking interchangeable battery container solution, which is charged using renewable power, in order to cut the barge’s emissions to zero.
“To complement the e-navigation set up, we are part of a consortium that has developed a concept based on the use of replaceable battery containers, known as ZESPacks (Zero Emission Services). A network of open access charging points will be set up for exchanging battery containers for fully charged replacements, thereby keeping waiting times to a minimum. The first of these battery containers will be installed in the summer,” explains Teus Van Beek, general manager, ecosystem innovation, Wärtsilä Marine Systems.
Wärtsilä has drawn on its inland waterway experience to create the effective battery containers – something which brewer, Heineken, has already signed up to as a carbon-neutral way of moving 45,000 containers of beer a year up to the Port of Rotterdam.
“Utilising new technology, we will change short sea and inland shipping into a safer, cleaner, and more efficient link in the logistic chain, with greater accessibility to those who need it,” pointed out Wärtsilä Voyage president, Sean Fernback.
