Toward low-carbon shipping
With more than 500 million metric tons of goods transported inland in the European Union,(1) shipping companies are looking for solutions to decarbonize their logistic chain. In this context, Air Liquide and Future Proof Shipping (FPS), a provider of zero-emission shipping solutions, have signed a long-term contract for the supply of hydrogen to FPS’s inland barge, the Maas, which transports containers in the Benelux region. This supply will allow the substitution of hydrogen for the conventional fuel used in the shipping industry, thus reducing the sector's environmental footprint. The hydrogen will be delivered in specially designed multi-modal hydrogen storage suited for inland barges. The overall solution will avoid nearly 2,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year for the first ship concerned. Due to its replicability potential for other ships (and other heavy-duty mobility usages), the project is a milestone on the path to the decarbonization of inland waterways.
(1) Eurostat