Engineers at Aqueduct Marina have won a tender to work on the RIVER project, a new initiative they believe could help shape the development of the next generation of boat engines.
The RIVER project, of which a new boat to be built by Aqueduct Marina for the Canal & River Trust will play a major part, consists of nine partners from five EU states and five associated partners involved in the capture, storage, treatment of CO2 and waterways.
The project aims to develop internal combustion engines to virtually eliminate CO2 emissions.
The marina has been involved with the Trust for many years building and restoring its workboats and was particularly pleased to win this latest tender.
“It is excellent that CRT is involved in this European environmental collaboration and we are naturally delight here at Aqueduct Marina to be building this boat,” said Robert Parton, Aqueduct MD. “We look forward with interest to seeing how the theory works on the water.”
The new workboat will be adapted with a test rig added that will enable the project’s engineers to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology in real-world scenarios.
Tests will include recovering exhaust energy that will be combined with carbon capture technology. The expelled CO2 will be stored as compressed gas in containers.
At the end of the project Aqueduct’s engineers will remove the central section of the 65ft boat and reduce it to the more usual 55ft. Once reconfigured it will then join the Trust’s fleet of maintenance boats.
The RIVER project is being led by the French research establishment Yncrea Hauts De France based in Lille.
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