“In twenty years, no one will want to be stuck with a diesel ship.”

The shift to zero-emission inland shipping is not being held back by technology, but by the way investments are assessed. That's according to Renze Boersema, a member of the core team of Condor Zero Emission Inland Shipping. “In twenty years” time, you won't want to be stuck with a diesel ship, but the bank is mainly looking at the first five to ten years."

According to Renze Boersema, the new Condor white paper shows that battery-electric shipping can be economically feasible for part of the fleet as early as 2028, but that financing remains a challenge.

“The problem isn't so much that there's no money, but that a bank assesses an investment differently than an entrepreneur or the government. If you look at the total costs of a diesel ship and an electric ship over twenty years, actually everyone says: then you should opt for emission-free sailing. But banks don't look at the entire twenty years.”