Biogas hybrid barge for Swedish waterways

Partners in the project, which is the first such propulsion arrangement and will be used on inland waterways, include Lithuanian company Western Baltic Engineering, a subsidiary of the Western Shipyard, the Swedish Avatar Logistics company and the Port of Hamburg Marketing, as well as Klaipėda Science and Technology Park (KSTP), which coordinates the activity of the Lithuanian LNG cluster

The new technological solution will be used for transporting liquid cargo via inland waters between Stockholm and Göteborg – the second-largest city in Sweden. The barge will be 86 m long, featuring the capacity of 2114 m3.

“The European Union is highly-interested in renewing its inland waterway fleet and has already planned certain measures. The current circumstances create a very favourable environment for the development of the shipbuilding sector, as well as the liquefied natural gas and biogas distribution chain.” said Andrius Sutnikas, development manager, KSTP.

Liquefied biogas is produced using biomethane. The main source of raw material for the production of biogas is livestock, poultry and farming waste. A part of the raw material consists of municipal waste from cities, sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants and waste from food processing companies.

Sweden is planning to abandon the use of diesel fuel before 2050 and is particularly interested in innovative, environmentally-friendly propulsion solutions.

The solution is being developed under the framework of Go LNG and Emma projects of the Interreg Baltic Sea Programme.