DUTCH FIRST FULLY ZERO EMISSION WIRE CRANE SHIP IS A REALITY
At the end of 2025, Van den Herik-Sliedrecht presented a special development in the field of sustainability in hydraulic engineering to the market. Van den Herik is the first to have a wire crane ship that runs entirely on batteries charged by hydrogen fuel cells. The ship, the ‘Prins 6’, has been designated a ‘Leader’ by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management from the transition path Coastline Care and Fairway Maintenance, with which the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management is pushing sustainability in the field.
During an informational event, about 100 interested industry members got a closer look at the ship and the hydrogen setup.
From Prins 6 to Prins ZEs
The existing crane ship ‘Prins 6’ has been transformed to Zero Emission. This means not only that the ship operates with an electric crane, but also sails on batteries. The ship is charged by converting hydrogen into electricity without combustion.
Key changes:
- 2 Megawatt hours (MWh) of battery capacity in the side anchors: enough for a full working day. Charging can be done via powerlocks or CCS2 plugs.
- Hydrogen cell generator (H2 cells): a compact 10-foot container (3 x 2.6 x 2.5 m) with a capacity of 3,600 kWh per day.
No small boy
What makes this project unique is the size of the energy requirements combined with the fact that the ship has a very large operating area. The batteries installed in the ship have a combined capacity of 2 MWh. If the batteries are completely empty, they can be fully recharged in 12 hours using the hydrogen fuel cell generator, after which the Prins ZEs can sail and work electrically for an entire working day!
“As a family business, we think it is important to invest in new technologies with an eye to the future, for ourselves and for the generations to come. We want to show that sustainability is possible, even in a sector that traditionally uses a lot of energy. Innovation does require guts. If you want to be a frontrunner you have to stick your neck out and sometimes you run into obstacles, we are pleased that Rijkswaterstaat supports us in this.“
Isolde Struijk – Director Van den Herik-Sliedrecht
Hydrogen powerhouse
Because there is not yet a network of charging points along the waterways, Van den Herik developed a compact 10-foot hydrogen fuel cell generator in-house.
Despite its size, this is truly a powerhouse; capable of generating and delivering as much as 3,600kWh per day of power. By comparison, this container, with a battery, could permanently power a neighborhood of 400 homes.
The hydrogen fuel cell generator is placed on shore, along with a trailer containing hydrogen stored under high pressure (up to 381 bar). The hydrogen then enters the fuel cell, converts it into electricity and delivers it to the batteries aboard the ship.
“Frontrunner projects such as the Prins ZEs show that making hydraulic engineering more sustainable becomes feasible when government and market join forces. Together with the market, we not only maintain our infrastructure but also make it future-proof.“
Roger Mol – Chief Engineer-Director Sustainability and Environment and Chief Procurement Officer of Rijkswaterstaat
In doing so, Rijkswaterstaat offers room for innovation within contracts and using SEB funds (Clean and Emission-free Building), sustainable choices become financially feasible. In this way, parties can experiment, learn and scale up. The insights are widely shared with clients and contractors. In this way, frontrunners help the entire sector move forward toward emission-free construction.
Twice Platinum
Finally, we are proud to announce that the Prins ZEs has been objectively rated by Green Award. They have certified it with a Green Award Gold certificate with the Green Award Platinum Label Propulsion and the Green Award Platinum Label Operations attached.
The “Prince ZEs” is the very first ship to receive 2 platinum labels.
