In this Interreg 2 Seas project (duration 2019-2022), companies and research institutes collaborate to develop and (re)build four boats that will mostly sail on hydrogen. It concerns different types of boats: a tour boat, a cargo boat for inland shipping, a maintenance vessel and a so-called crew transport vessel (to bring people to the offshore wind farms). Two pilots concern new boats, the other two are retrofits (re-motorization of existing boats). The boats will be equipped with hybrid control (combination of hydrogen and diesel) because it is currently uncertain whether hydrogen can be produced in sufficient amounts and whether it will deliver sufficient power. The partnership consists of 15 partners, from BE, NL, UK and FR, Port of Ostend is Lead Partner, with a total budget of almost € 16 million and a subsidy of around € 9 million. They contracted us to shape the partnership and to write the application, and we now also support this approved project in its implementation.
Menu
