SEGULA'S GREEN DELIRIVER PROJECT GETS APPROVAL TO USE BIO-CNG

The global engineering group SEGULA Technologies and its partner GRDF, supported by a consortium of 12 partners, have initiated this pilot project in 2018 to enhance and develop the first hybrid electric/bio CNG freight boat. This innovative solution for decarbonising the river shipping sector – thanks to the environmental advantages of bio-CNG – is part of a circular economy approach for the entire Seine Axis.

The retrofitting of a self-propelled boat of the “Campinois” size in 2023, a key stage in the validation of this motorisation, should enable it to participate in the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After obtaining this European authorisation, the consortium chose Paris as the centre of its experimentation. The final objective of this first project is to link the major logistics hubs of the Seine Axis: the ports of Limay, Gennevilliers, Achères and Bonneuil-sur-Marne, with the centre of Paris.

The next phase involves the construction of a new pusher with a hybrid electric/bio-CNG engine, and a barge that will be operational in 2025, before a more significant development in the following years, with a view to the 900 ships that currently navigate the Seine Axis.

Born in 2018 under the impetus of SEGULA Technologies, GRDF and the urban community Grand Paris Seine & Oise (GPS&O) with the support of seven partners, the Green Deliriver pilot project, was conceived as a response to road network congestion and the explosion of e-commerce.

The Green Deliriver project also responds to circular economy issues. The bio-CNG consumed will come from the methanisation of waste collected along the Seine, reducing noise pollution, CO2 emissions by 85% and fine particles by 98%, compared with combustion engines. The transport of goods to the heart of the cities by river avoids about 40 lorries on the roads, thanks to a logistic capacity of 1,000 tonnes.