Two Seattle-based maritime industry businesses say they’re teaming on a series of “barge-based clean power solutions” for ports that lack the traditional infrastructure for shore power.
Marine energy transportation firm Centerline Logistics announced Oct. 30 that it has entered into a partnership with marine engineering and naval architecture firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) to build and launch what they’re calling the Clean Harbor Alternative Mobile Power (CHAMP) barge.
The firms are expected to announce fleet locations and deployments next year for EBDG’s patent-pending floating platform, which could potentially lower vessel emissions by as much as 93% when vessels idle in port, according to the companies.
The first CHAMP deployments are expected to run on methanol-driven generator technology and provide 6 to 16 megawatts of power. For the U.S. market, CHAMP is anticipated to be a U.S. Coast Guard-inspected vessel, thereby removing the need for shoreside permitting or infrastructure, according to Centerline.
“As ports prioritize emissions reductions, finding ways to manage all sources of negative carbon emissions, both underway and moored, becomes crucial,” Ravi Sekhon, Centerline Logistics’ director of engineering and sustainability, said in a statement.
“CHAMP offers ports and shipping companies a practical and sustainable solution for emission reduction,” Sekhon continued. “Centerline is excited to provide our government and commercial customers around the globe with a safe and reliable cold-ironing solution that is exclusively available through our partnership with EBDG.”
Michael Complita, EBDG’s vice president of strategic expansion, called CHAMP “a groundbreaking solution for reducing port emissions.”
“Our team developed CHAMP to deliver multimegawatt clean power wherever it’s needed, without relying on permanent shoreside installations,” Complita said. “We are excited to partner with Centerline to bring this technology into operation.”
