Using hydrogen-powered barges to create a climate-neutral transport route on the Rhine

550 million tonnes of goods are shipped by waterways every year. The most commonly used means of transport per water is the barge, a flat-bottomed boat for carrying inland freight, typically for rivers and canals. Barge transportation produces far fewer emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) for each ton of cargo moved compared to transport by truck or rail. Yet the EU Green Deal ambition is to go completely climate neutral by 2050.

One way the chemical industry can contribute to moving towards zero-emission ships, is by transitioning from fossil fuels as power source, to hydrogen. In a joint project, Covestro and the logistics service provider Nederlandse Particuliere Rijnvaart-Centrale Cooperatie (NPRC) plan to convert the salt transport fleet on the Rhine to hydrogen-powered barges. While the absolute CO₂ emissions of a barge are subject to the shipping volume and other factors, the transition to hydrogen is expected to save up to 1.000 tonnes of CO₂ annually per ship.

Is the hydrogen renewable?

Covestro aims to use renewable hydrogen to refuel the inland waterway vessels  right from the start of operations. For the time-being, Covestro generates hydrogen as a by-product of their production processes. Once the hydrogen is generated using green electricity , it won’t have any carbon footprint.

Operations to start in 2024

The partners initially plan to put two hydrogen-powered barges into operation from 2024 , with more ships to follow. Several factors need to be investigated before the project can become operational. These include a final feasibility analysis, the planning and construction of the ships, and the setup of the corresponding infrastructure along the Rhine river. The joint initiative aims to put 280 hydrogen-powered barges into operation by 2030, which would amount to a total reduction of 220.000 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

Associated SDG targets