24.12.2018
Press Release
Samskip takes the lead in ambitious initiative to develop autonomous, zero-emissions container ships that also compete on cost.
Europe's largest multimodal operator has been named lead partner in ‘Seashuttle', a project seeking to bring emissions-free, autonomous container ships to market that also operate at a profit.
The announcement coincides with the award of €6 million of Norwegian government money to Project SeaShuttle to take forward development of two all-electric ships slated to connect Poland, Swedish west coast ports and the Oslo fjord. The vessels will draw on state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cells for their propulsion power.
Seashuttle is one of six initiatives included in ‘PILOT-E', a €100 million-plus scheme involving the Research Council, Innovation Norway and Enova, aiming to bring solutions for the climate-neutral industries of the future to market more quickly. Seashuttle funding came from four Norwegian ministries (Food and Fishing; Climate and Environment; Petroleum and Energy; and Transport and Communications).
“Samskip is delighted to take the lead in the project to develop next generation sustainable shortsea shipping,” says Are Grathen, MD Samskip Norway. “What distinguishes this project and will be key to its success is the combination of fuel and technology that will make it cost competitive with existing solutions. With our trusted project partners, we are convinced that such ambitions are realistic.”...MORE
Aspirations for sustainability are best encouraged by door-to-door services that provided cost-effective and scalable competition with truck-ferry options, feeding into a pan-European distribution network, he says. Automation of key shipboard activities would also bring cost savings. “Exporters increasingly seek lower and even zero emissions transport solutions, but they need to be assured on reliability, frequency, efficiency and cost effectiveness.”
Once operational, there is no reason why zero emissions ships should not target the 2,000 truck loads passing through Norwegian ports every day, he adds. ...
We'll be back later in the week with more, there are actually a few moving parts to this story.
