Category: Technology

German Federal Council President visits general contractor for the F126 naval armaments project

Manuela Schwesig, Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, visited the Dutch naval shipyard Damen Naval in Vlissingen on 11 March 2024 as part of a delegation trip by the German Federal Council. She was informed about the maritime industry in the Netherlands and German-Dutch cooperation in the field of shipbuilding and defence technology. She paid particular attention to the F 126 project. The Peene shipyard in Wolgast, one of the three shipyards where the future German Navy frigates will be built, is located in her federal state. According to Damen Naval's press release, Mrs Schwesig was very interested in everything she got to see in Vlissingen. "We are delighted...

Weiterlesen

Remote-controlled inland navigation

Duisburg: Now that the first pilotless "ghost ships" are sailing on Belgium's waterways, ships are set to follow on German waterways. In future, the captains will no longer be on board, but on land. For a few weeks now, a Belgian captain has been sitting at a desk in the former Haniel offices in Duisburg-Ruhrort. With headphones in front of four computer terminals and six camera screens, he steers an inland freighter across the Belgian Plassendale-Nieuwpoort Canal and the River Yser, over 300 kilometres away. Two controllers are all the Fleming needs to keep the unmanned "Watertruck 8" loaded with excavated earth on course. Skilled labour shortage In the Duisburg control centre, this is the first time that the...

Weiterlesen

USA Environmental protection: "Clean Ports Programme" worth billions

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a €2.8 billion programme for clean ports. The programme aims to invest in zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure to help tackle the climate crisis and improve air quality. Decarbonisation The climate investment is intended to reduce pollution from fossil fuels in US port logistics and replace it with clean technologies such as electrification and hydrogen fuel cells. At the same time, port workers and the population are to be protected from harmful air pollution and well-paid jobs are to be created, including jobs that do not require a university degree. This programme was launched in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, a subsidy programme for manufacturing in...

Weiterlesen

Germany's seaports: too small for offshore offensive

In the coming years, Germany wants to erect new, large wind turbines off its own coast. However, there is a lack of space for the huge components in the seaports. Gigantic dimensions According to the German government, offshore wind power is to be expanded to a capacity of 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and 70 GW by 2045. This corresponds to an expansion of a further 60 GW within the next 21 years. According to industry figures, this will require up to 7,000 new offshore wind turbines to be installed. At 300 metres, they are almost as high as the Eiffel Tower and stand on foundations weighing 2,500 tonnes...

Weiterlesen

Offshore energy: underwater turbines

Wave or tidal power plants are heralding themselves as the next big technological leap in the field of renewable energies, and research and development efforts are underway on several fronts. The concept is as simple as it is proven: "windmills" that are installed on the seabed or riverbed and whose blades are driven by underwater currents. The rest of the technology is well known; the turbines are connected to an electric generator via a gearbox. This produces the electricity, which is fed to the transformer station via a connecting cable on land. In contrast to windmills, the kinetic energy in tidal areas is reliable, while the wind strength can vary greatly until it reaches the...

Weiterlesen
en_GBEnglish