Vattenfall and Stromma Group are investing in silent, emission-free electric sightseeing boats. The collaboration begins with Amsterdam’s canal cruisers, which will be fully electrified by 2025.
The Stromma Group has entered a partnership with Vattenfall to electrify Stromma’s boat fleet to provide fossil-free transportation. The first phase of the collaboration will focus on electrifying canal boats in Amsterdam. Vattenfall will supply the battery system for emission-free operation of the city’s canal boats, which will be mandatory as of 2025.
“The partnership with Stromma is a good example of how collaboration can jointly drive electrification forward and enable a completely emission-free fleet,” says Maria Lindberg, who is responsible for electrification of heavy transport at Vattenfall Network Solutions. “Our ‘Power-as-a-Service’ offering takes this collaborative concept one stage further and involves us owning, managing and taking responsibility for the operation and maintenance of electrical infrastructure. This means that our customers can focus on their core business.”
“We look forward to working with Vattenfall on electrifying our boats in Amsterdam as a first step,” says Patric Sjöberg, President and CEO of Stromma Group. “We are facing a major shift in our operations, and this partnership is an important step in our continued sustainability work.”
Vattenfall is also supplying fossil-free electricity to the Stromma project.
Accelerating the electrical transition
Vattenfall’s commitment to electrification is wide reaching and reflects a global shift away from fossil-fuel dependency. The UK has pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Electricity will play an outsized role in meeting this challenge, resulting in a huge spike in demand – meaning the UK’s electrical infrastructure must adapt and expand.
In order to reduce emissions and accelerate progress towards net zero targets, major upgrades are required. Most businesses’ existing electrical infrastructure is not sufficient to cope with the additional demands expected, yet concerns about investment costs mean that major upgrades are not happening at the required speed. This situation is leaving many businesses open to the risk of competitive disadvantage, due to a shortage of equipment, expertise, and increased wait times for upgraded or new grid connections.
Vattenfall are keen to help UK businesses avoid such problems and to accelerate the electrical transition. Via Power-as-a-Service Vattenfall provide the investment, the expertise, the electrical designs and project management to help companies upgrade their private wire networks and become fossil-free sooner.
The main question now is how fast the transition will unfold, and whether it will be fast enough to counter the climate emergency.
