Dutch agreement (Declaration of Nijmegen) to reduce CO2 by inland waterway transport sector

By: Jeroen Berger, May 17, 2018 (updated)

The Declaration of Nijmegen was signed by the inland waterway transport sector on Thursday April 12 of 2018. This Dutch agreement reflects the commitment of the sector to expedite the greening process in the years ahead. Although the inland navigation industry has a substantial lead if you compare its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to those of trucks and trains, in order to retain this lead, inland waterway vessels should be more sustainable.

 

In the Declaration of Nijmegen, initiated by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (in Dutch: Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat; I&W), in close collaboration with the European Green Capital of Nijmegen, government bodies, port authorities, logistics companies, and shippers have set down their intention to expedite the sustainabilisation of shipping transport. Currently, the inland navigation sector emits some 2.1 megatons of CO2 per annum. By 2030, this must be reduced to a maximum of 1.7 megatons. This 20 per cent savings equals the CO2 emitted by nearly 50,000 households. By 2050, the inland waterway transport sector must be climate-neutral.

 

Solutions to reduce CO2

 

In anticipation of the Dutch agreement (the Declaration of Nijmegen) to reduce CO2, Berger Maritiem has added a new innovation to his package of sustainable solutions a year ago: the efficiency PACK (waste heat recovery system) from the German company Orcan Energy AG (see figure 1). This technology produces electrical or mechanical energy (to support the powertrain) by using the waste heat from the exhaust gas and cooling water. Thanks to this solution a ship owner or shipping company is able to reduce yearly their CO2 footprint till 300 tonnes and save on their fuel costs (6-9%).

 

Because the efficiency PACK continuously measures the recovered electrical or mechanical energy in kW net, a ship owner or shipping company can calculate and prove how many CO2 (and fuel costs) is saved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: efficiency PACK (waste heat recovery system) from Orcan Energy AG

 

Improving the hydrodynamic performance of an inland waterway vessel, is another measure to reduce the CO2 footprint. To get the insights, Berger Maritiem makes use of the knowledge and expertise from VICUSdt, established in Vigo (Spain). This independent player of design and engineering services makes use of advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology (see figure 2).

 

By making use of this technology, the flow and resistance of an inland waterway vessel can be calculated to investigate where improvements can be done. Thanks to this scientific approach, the calculated CO2 reduction (and fuel cost savings) can be made provable.

 

Figure 2: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology

 

It is our expectation that more CO2 reducing technologies will follow over the years. Berger Maritiem is following the latest developments. We will inform you in case more techniques are available.

 

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