Spot the Surprising Detail on This Barge? It Might Transform River Transport!

On the transport side, the road is strongly pointed out and a transition is now in place with electric cars, the plane is just starting to start a transition but what about maritime and river transport? If many initiatives are still in the project stage, a barge intended for river transport is already in service. His name? Blue Marlin and it is a boat unique in the world.

But it's not new, boats use solar panels, you would tell us. And you would be right since, for example, certain cruise ships are equipped with it to supply certain electricity equipment. No, what makes Blue Marlin's novelty are that these 192 solar panels arranged on the Péniche bridge allow the boat to be propelled.

Thus, this barge is the first cargo boat in the world to use solar energy to propel itself. And that, inevitably, it's new. Its objective is not to take you to heavenly destinations or to take a world tour thanks to the energy taken from sunlight.

No, it is a barge chartered to a very specific task: the transport of raw materials and in particular steel through the German river network to reduce the use of trucks and other vehicles that emit a lot of CO2.

The Blue Marlin is therefore a barge that works for the decarbonation of the steel industry or, at least, its transport. So, to be precise, its propulsion system is not based solely on solar energy, but on a hybrid-diesel system.

A barge that can work without crew

And very often, a novelty does not come alone. Blue Marlin is no exception to the rule. Thus, in addition to proposing a hybrid propulsion system, the German barge arrives with a system allowing the crew on the shore.

Indeed, thanks to Seafar technology, it is possible to control the Blue Marlin remotely. It is, certainly, less large than 192 solar panels, but it could allow you to open the way to a new way of practicing the transport of raw materials across the country and perhaps even across Europe.

Source : Xataka