Dutch lead costs on electric inland vessels
In a windy container park near the vast harbor of Rotterdam slots, a crane a white battery of 30 tons in a transporter vessel, enough to offer an eight-hour zero emissions cargo.
The ship, the Mrs. Den Bosch Max Groen, will use the waterways between the ports of Rotterdam and Den Bosch using a groundbreaking system of interchangeable batteries, praised as the world’s first commercial implementation of technology.
Organizers believe that the game change could be for the domestic waterway transport sector, while admitting that there is work to do to make it competitive.
The system is simple and time efficient. While the ship turns its load on one of the three strategic locations in the Rotterdam area, a crane exchanges an exhausted battery for a fully charged.
“The ship owner, or the shipper, does not lose time for charging,” says Michael Beemer, Chief Executive of Zero Emission Services (six), who offers the batteries.
The battery, known as a Zespack (or “Six Pack”), takes about three hours to charge and only 15 minutes to drag through Crane to the ship, Beemer told AFP.
With this system, no CO2, nitrogen or particles are emitted. About 800 tonnes of CO2 per year are saved with only this ship, said Eduard Backer, Chief Executive of Inland Terminals Group (ITG).
ITG has 17 terminals that connect important locations in the Netherlands and Belgium with the Zeepbates of Antwerp and Rotterdam, which handle a million containers a year.
There are currently battery exchange facilities on three ITG terminals, but Backer said there were already plans for three, with the network expanding quickly.
“I have a strong, strong belief in waterway transport. We have to strive to get much more cargo from the road on the water,” said Backer, 54.
This is especially important in the Netherlands, which has one of the world’s highest population densities and heavy busy roads, especially around Rotterdam.
– ‘Cleaner air, cleaner water’ –
As a country that is known for its channels worldwide, the Netherlands is a European leader when it comes to sending goods inland.
According to data from the European Union, the Dutch transported 18.5 tonnes of goods per place of residence via domestic shipping routes in 2024, almost 17 times the EU average.
Statistics Netherlands registered an increase of 1.5 percent of the volume of goods that was sent over the interior of Waterwegen in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Of the approximately 10,000 domestic water road ships in Europe, about half sails under a Dutch flag, Beemer said.
Transition of diesel-powered ships to zero missions electric cargo ships is a game change for the local environment, he said AFP.
“We have cleaner air, cleaner water, so a cleaner living environment,” he said, adding that the circumstances on board the ship were also noticeably healthier.
Beemer sees a huge potential in the system and is already supported by business giants such as Heineken.
“The goal is to have about eight to 10 locations towards the end of 2026,” he said, with plans to extend to at least 50 ships using the interchangeable battery system.
The former investment banker talks to potential customers, hoping to convince them to become a “forerunner” in the sector and to stay ahead of a stricter environmental regulations that will further limit emissions.
“You would be ready to hit the ground if there are rules and regulations,” said the 39-year-old.
The batteries are charged using 100 percent green electricity and shippers pay using an innovative system based on the time that the battery is on board and the energy used.
Beemer acknowledged that the technology still has a way to go before it competes with traditional diesel-driven ships at cost.
“We need the market to adjust this system so that we can have more scale. Scale is the key to reduce costs and to get it more reliable for ship owners,” he said.
“It is not much more expensive. It is not yet competitive, but it will be,” he promised.
A similar pilot project was carried out on the Yangtze River in China and in Vietnam, but the Dutch goal is to be the world leader in technology, building on his rich seafaring heritage and centuries of life and working on water.
Beemer said it is not about global competition, but rather learn from other countries.
“Are we competing in achieving climate goals? Or do we all want to achieve climate goals together?”
