Athens saw on February 9 the kick-off meeting of the BlueBARGE project, whose main objective is the design and development of an energy barge that will support the supply of electricity to moored and anchored ships.
The BlueBARGE initiative, coordinated by ABS Hellenic Single Member LTD and in which Fundación Valenciaport is actively participating, has a total budget of more than 11 million euros, co-financed by CINEA’s Horizon Europe programme. BlueBARGE aims to play a key role in the transformation of the maritime port sector towards the goals of electrification and decarbonisation, at European and international level.
The BlueBARGE project is an initiative focused on the design and development of an energy barge that will provide electricity to moored and anchored ships. The barge is set to limit polluting emissions following a modular, scalable, adaptable and flexible design approach that will facilitate its commercialisation by 2030.
It will also address the issues of power supply integration, interconnection of the barge with ships, the port and the local power grid, as well as operational safety and regulatory compliance. In this way, it will offer a complete, high-availability power supply solution.
One of the most innovative points of BlueBARGE is the introduction of a novel hybrid concept that will combine the higher energy density of lithium (Li-ion) batteries with the innovative vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) solution, which introduces increased safety and service life.
The project includes the completion of a feasibility study, the formulation of a sound operational strategy and business plan and the identification of possible sources of financing. A small-scale prototype will also be developed and tested in a real controlled environment.
In addition to ABS and Fundación Valenciaport, 12 other European entities participate in the BlueBARGE consortium: Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige Universitet; Hydrus Advanced Consolidated Engineering Services S.A; Aalborg Universitet; Elkon Elektrik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş; Regbes B.V.; Multimarine Services Ltd; Corvus Norway AS; Magellan Circle – European Affairs Consultancy, Lda.; Danaos Shipping Co. LTD; Enerox GmbH y Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd.
