At a windswept container park near the sprawling port of Rotterdam, a crane slots a 30-tonne white battery into a transporter vessel, enough to provide eight hours of zero-emissions freight.

The ship, the MS Den Bosch Max Groen, will ply the waterways between the ports of Rotterdam and Den Bosch using a pioneering system of swappable batteries, hailed as the world's first commercial deployment of the technology.

Organisers believe it could be game-changing for the inland waterway transport sector, while admitting there is work to be done to make it cost competitive.

The system is simple and time-efficient. While the ship unloads its cargo at one of three strategic locations near Rotterdam, a crane swaps out a depleted battery for a fully-charged one.

"The ship owner, or the shipper, do

See Full Page