Wouter van der Geest

Wouter van der Geest has extensive experience as a consultant in and around the inland navigation sector and has been involved in innovation projects around the propulsion of inland vessels since 2017. He has an excellent overview of the business case around inland shipping, energy profiles and shipping movements. He combines these insights on behalf of clients to deliver valuable advice on transportation options (modal shift) and more sustainable transportation options.

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Presentation

Retrofit of IWT vessels to a hybrid configuration

The presentation's focus is a feasibility study to retrofit existing barges to a hybrid configuration where an electric motor is added around the propeller shaft. The electric motor is powered by batteries that allow at least 50% of daily operations to be zero emission. It will cover the business cases, technical challenges and certification of the hybrid powertrain. Research already completed shows that at current battery prices based on maritime standards, such a retrofit is already interesting for 15% of the fleet. This could achieve a large reduction in CO2 emissions from inland navigation.