Current Direct

Waterborne transport emissions represent around 13% of the overall EU greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. Moreover, waterborne transport emissions could increase between 50% and 250% by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario, undermining the objectives of the Paris agreement. The challenge for a large-scale adoption and implementation of batteries for waterborne transport is mainly related to the high costs of the battery systems and cells.
The overarching aim of the Current Direct project is to develop and demonstrate an innovative interchangeable waterborne transport battery system and EaaS Platform in an operational environment at the Port of Rotterdam at TRL7 that facilitates fast charging of vessels, fleet optimization and novel business models. The Current Direct project is dedicated to (i) significantly reduce the total cost of waterborne transport batteries, (ii) cut GHG emissions of the marine transport sector through electrification of vessel fleets, (iii) increase the energy density of waterborne battery cells and (iv) trigger investments for innovation, job and knowledge creation in the European marine transport and battery sector.

Project partners

• UHasselt
• VITO
• UMICORE
• VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
• WARTSILA NORWAY AS
• Llloyd's Register EMEA
• Rhoé Urban Technologies
• CNET CENTRE FOR NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES SA
• AVILOO GmbH
• KOTUG International BV
• Foreship Ltd
• Spear Power Systems BV
• Blackstone Technology GmbH