PRESS RELEASE

King visits inland shipping operator NPRC’s zero-emission ship

Success lies in chain collaboration between industry and transport

DUISBURG – His Majesty King Willem-Alexander today paid a visit to zero-emission ship MS Antonie. The King was given a tour of inland shipping operator Harm Lenten. His Hydrogen Electric Ship Antonie (Waterstof Elektrische Vrachtschip Antonie, or WEVA) is the world’s first new-build hydrogen-powered inland vessel. Harm will use this demo ship to prove that hydrogen is a viable solution for clean and quiet water transportation of goods.

The tour was part of the King’s visit to a number of hydrogen-related businesses and institutes in North Rhine-Westphalia. An economic hydrogen mission is taking place in parallel with the King’s working visit. The Netherlands and Germany are working closely together to boost the hydrogen economy. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to use hydrogen to develop a climate-neutral industrial region. This presents the Netherlands with strategic opportunities to act as an import hub and transit country.

Collaborative business development
Germany is the Netherlands’ biggest trading partner. As many as 45% of all NPRC voyages are to and from Germany. NPRC CEO Femke Brenninkmeijer is proud that the company and its project partners have been able to show this wonderful project to the King: ‘The success of this ship lies in the collaboration between industry and transport. Together with our client Nobian and inland shipping operator Harm Lenten, we have taken steps that others didn’t think possible. It’s precisely thanks to joining forces with others that we’ve been able to realise this hydrogen electric ship.’

RH2INE Network of Excellence
During the working visit, the King was also updated on the RH2INE initiative. This is a public-private partnership between several parties, including NPRC, which aims to accelerate the use of hydrogen in transport on the Rhine.

Jeannette Baljeu, deputy of the province of South Holland and together with North Rhine-Westphalia co-founder of RH2INE: ‘Over the past few years, our network has worked on the exchange of knowledge and on standardisation with respect to hydrogen. It’s great that we can now present the tangible results of all this hard work. This is a compliment for all those involved in the RH2INE network. Industry leaders such as NPRC are indispensable in achieving a zero-emission transport corridor. Their success will hopefully ensure that, in the foreseeable future, sufficient additional funding will be made available at national and European level to achieve the desired sector-wide scale-up.

Green hydrogen for salt transport
Michael Koenig, CEO of Nobian: ‘Nobian’s ambition is to be climate-neutral by 2040. Greening the transport of our products is an important step towards achieving this goal. This project demonstrates that with the right partners and innovative power it’s possible to take tangible steps towards greening inland shipping.’

MS Antonie will transport salt emission-free on behalf of Nobian, a manufacturer of salt and essential chemicals for industries. On each voyage, the ship will transport about 3,700 tonnes of salt from Delfzijl to the factory in Botlek, Rotterdam, the equivalent of 120 truckloads. Nobian will also produce the green hydrogen which powers the MS Antonie. In contrast to fossil fuels such as diesel, the use of hydrogen, generated using renewable electricity, is totally clean.

Hydrogen has potential
The energy transition will accelerate in the next few years. Brenninkmeijer is seeing growing interest in clean alternatives among shippers: ‘Companies have set themselves the goal of becoming climate-neutral. They are faced with reporting requirements on carbon emissions. This includes indirect Scope 3 emissions, such as emissions from transporting goods. NPRC has identified several companies with the scale to take on a similar construction. This demo project will enable us to gain experience and in doing so inspire other shippers. We aim to lead by example.’

Picture by Robin-Alysha Clemens