Finnish marine equipment and technology company Wärtsilä said on
Thursday it is working to develop an autonomous, emissions-free
intra-port, inter-terminal container shuttle that would help address
the emerging capacity bottleneck for internal container
transportation.

The project is part of an international alliance headed by the Port
of Rotterdam Authority, which has this month been awarded nearly €25
million in EU funding to implement projects aimed at sustainable and
smart port logistics. This involves the development of a grand plan
that sets out how transport within, to and from ports can be made
carbon-free by 2050.

While numerous green fuels and energy carriers are being advanced,
the partners have also initiated a series of digitalization and
automation projects in relation to the energy transition aimed at
encouraging businesses to improve the sustainability of their
logistics.

The research project, nicknamed MAGPIE (sMArt Green Ports as
Integrated Efficient multimodal hubs) was borne out of a
collaboration between the port authorities of Rotterdam, DeltaPort
(Germany), HAROPA (France: La Havre, Rouen, Paris) and Sines
(Portugal), in partnership with 10 research institutions and over 30
companies in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Portugal and Denmark.

Wärtsilä, who said it is the largest industrial partner of MAGPIE,
is set to receive the biggest portion of the grant for its
autonomous container shuttle subproject. The installation will
include several Wärtsilä solutions, including SmartMove Suite, which
provides a unique pairing of sensor tech with navigation systems for
safe, automated ship movement. Wärtsilä’s autonomous solutions have
been tried and tested successfully in the busiest and highly
congested waters before, both in inland waterways and at
international ports like Singapore, so they can handle high traffic
volume safely by design.

“We believe that overland transport modes will not be able to absorb
the emerging capacity bottleneck for internal container movement.
So, we will be delivering an autonomous e-barge concept that can
greatly enhance efficiency in the Port of Rotterdam through
automated seaborne cargo transshipment. Our ambition is to see these
container shuttles introduced into a smart logistics network within
the next few years,” said Hendrik Busshoff, Business Development
Engineer, Wärtsilä Voyage.

To lift the ambition level for such a barge to not only being smart,
but also emissions-free, electric propulsion will be enabled by
means of an electric drive train and a interchangeable battery
container solution, which is charged using renewable power.

Teus Van Beek, General Manager, Ecosystem Innovation, Wärtsilä
Marine Systems, said, “At Wärtsilä, we maintain that an autonomy
strategy is key to a zero-emission ambition. To complement the
e-navigation set up, we are part of a consortium that has developed
a concept based on the use of replaceable battery containers, known
as ZESPacks (Zero Emission Services). A network of open access
charging points will be set up for exchanging battery containers for
fully charged replacements, thereby keeping waiting time to a
minimum. The first of these battery containers will be installed in
the summer.”

Wärtsilä has already created the battery containers—something which
brewer, Heineken, has already signed up to as a carbon-neutral way
of moving 45,000 containers of beer a year up to the Port of
Rotterdam.

“The world’s largest economies have high hopes of resolving some of
their greenhouse gas challenges and their infrastructure bottlenecks
with smart shipping. Since 2015 and combined with an effort to
reduce ground transportation, the EU has targeted a 25% increase in
cargo transportation by short sea shipping before 2030,” said Sean
Fernback, President, Wärtsilä Voyage. “We feel we can enable this.
Utilizing new technology, we will change short sea and inland
shipping into a safer, cleaner, and more efficient link in the
logistic chain, with greater accessibility to those who need it.
That’s why we are automating operations.”

Ori Marom, Director of Smart Mobility & 5G, Port of Rotterdam,
said, “The future of port logistics belongs to intelligent connected
and sustainable systems such as the autonomous e-barge system that
we now set to develop together.”