Kotug has gained a notable contract moving cocoa beans on the Netherlands inland waterways using its zero-emission E-Pusher tug and barge combination.
MJ has reported previously on Kotug’s “game-changing” range of E-Pusher modular and scalable electric pusher tugs featuring swappable battery containers.
The range comes in three sizes: small, medium and large; and while the first application involved an E-Pusher type S transferring garbage, construction materials and retail products in the municipality of Leiden, this development involves first use of the E-Pusher type M along with four barges.
The contract is with global food and agricultural commodity supplier Cargill and involves the transport of cocoa beans between Amsterdam, the world’s largest cocoa import port, and Cargill’s cocoa facility at Zaandam, on the North Sea Canal roughly halfway between Amsterdam and IJmuiden.
Cargill will be the first company with this fully-electrified industrial arrangement for inland shipping, achieving what Kotug describes as “more resilient and sustainable supply chains” in support of the worldwide energy transition and modal shift from road transport to waterways. The E-Pusher type M can push barges with up to 4,000 tons of cargo.
At the heart of the operation are the swappable battery containers supplied by Shift Clean Energy including battery swapping and charging stations provided by Shift. The containers use its ESS battery systems ranging from 70kWh to 6MWh, depending on the size of pusher tug.
Battery systems may well be zero-emission from the point of use, but of course one has to consider the source of electricity when charging and Shift’s PwrSwäp solutions are charged through clean power generation from biogas, hydrogen and other renewable sources either on the vessels themselves or at Shift’s dedicated energy stations. The swappable power system maximises uptime for vessel owners.
Ard-Jan Kooren, Kotug International president and CEO, said: “We launched the E-Pusher concept in 2021, and the smaller type, the E-Pusher S (the CityBarge One) is already successfully deployed in several inland waterways and cities.
”I am very proud that an international company like Cargill is our first customer for the E-Pusher type M. The vessel is designed for transportations like these and guarantees zero-emission logistics and a significantly improved efficiency. As a result, we can support a broad range of industries to turn a part of their supply chain emission-free without extra costs.”
L-R) Associate Professor Zakirul Bhuiyan, Director of WMRC, Vice Chancellor Professor Karen Stanton, Professor Syamantak Bhattacharya, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research & Knowledge Exchange and Warsash Maritime School Director Lars Lippuner
