Tesla Port-liner
Credit: Omega
ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — Globally, all modes of transportation are gradually being converted to electrical propulsion, and that now includes the maritime industry. One company, Netherlands-based Port-Liner, is building two giant all-electric barges dubbed the “Tesla ships.”
The company has announced the two vessels will be ready by this autumn and will be inaugurated by sailing the Wilhelmina canal in the Netherlands, reports Electrek.
The 100 million euro project is supported by a €7m subsidy from the European Union. But the Port-Liner project is even bigger than it might seem because it is expected to have a great impact on local transport between the ports of Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.
Chief executive of Port-Liner Ton van Meegen told The Loadstar: “There are some 7,300 inland vessels across Europe and more than 5,000 of those are owned by entrepreneurs in Belgium and the Netherlands. We can build upwards of 500 a year, but at that rate, it would take some 50 years to get the industry operating on green energy.”
All of these tech fixes are wonderful news. A real concern is whether or not they can overcome the rapid advance that climate change is causing. Stephan, I’d like to see you find and post articles that relate to the rapid rise in sea levels and what that means for the world’s ocean port wharves for loading and unloading. Here where I live in Nova Scotia, Canada, we still mainly burn coal that comes from the US and South America to generate electricity. NS Power is owned by an American company, Emera, headquartered in ME. When will the day arrive when the coal carriers will not be able to leave because the sea level is too high for them to load? Or conversely, the ships are unable to dock and unload. I have seen articles about what the US Navy has done in Norfolk, VA and how the wharves were raised 1M to combat this potential threat. What about the rest of the world?
John —
Please go to the SR website and click on Archives, and search on the terms “sea rise” and, just in case I made in one word, “searise” and you will find dozens of articles on this subject.
Nice idea. Seems like they would want to add solar and/ or wind turbines directly onto the ships so they can charge batteries real time as well which would minimize the depth of discharge. Thanks for tracking down this article.