News & Events
NEWS
WATERTRUCK GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR LARGE SCALE TESTING
21/05/2013
There have already been two successful trial sailings within the project. Thanks to an extension, the project team can now test the concept widely in two test zones of ±50 km diameter, of which one will be located in Belgium and the other in the Netherlands. Objective: to show that Watertruck really works and in so doing, encourage investors to build the desperately needed small pushers and barges, which are currently very scarce.
More information
NEWS
Watertruck event was big succes
03/10/2012
More than 80 visitors attended the Watertruck event in Gistel yesterday. It was a big success. After a more practical communication, the participants were able to visit the pilot project which consists of four barges containing salt that will be delivered to salt merchant QSalt, located on the Plassendale-Nieuwpoort canal in Gistel. The containers will be emptied using a crane. nv Willems will fill them up again with scrap metal to be transported to Kallo.
The parties involved called up to the industry: only if sufficient companies jump on this Watertruck-boat, the implementation of this project will succeed.
Press release
NEWS
Visit the second Watertruck pilot project
24/09/2012
After a success story in Brussels, Watertruck organizes a second pilot project.This time it is a transnational transport of salt (Quatannens) and scrap (SA Willems) between Oss (Netherlands), Gistel and Antwerp.
Watertruck will make use of the Canal Plassendale, where currently almost no professional activity is being executed. With this project, we want to convince the local industry to invest in sustainable transport through the waterway.
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EVENT
The press conference devoted to 'the first industrial pilot project'
08/06/2012
The press conference devoted to the first industrial pilot project will take place at Friday June 8, 2012.
Where? The Capitainerie, Rue de l'Avant-Port 2 in Brussels.
The programme:
14h15: Welcome by Benoit Hellings, President of the Port of Brussels
14h30: Statement by Brigitte Grouwels, Brussels minister Public Works & Mobility
14h45: Introduction Watertruck concept by Koen Valgaeren, VIM
15h00: Watertruck pilot: findings and results by Ir. Carl Verhamme, transport expert of Catena Consult
15h20: Findings from the industry by Nicolas de Hepcée, CEO of SEDE Benelux
15h30: Q&A
15h50: Coffee
Please confirm your attendance via xthirionet@port.irisnet.be.
NEWS
VNF has been nominated for the European environment award
05/06/2012
Voies navigable de France s’ecological engineering approach to the restoration of French waterway embankments up for a prize
French waterways manager, Voies navigables de France, has been shortlisted in the Business & Biodiversity category of the European Business Awards for the Environment 2012. The awards are made in recognition of successfully combining innovation, competitiveness and outstanding environmental performance.
The jury, meeting in Copenhagen in March, decided that VNF’s ‘ecological engineering approach to the restoration of French waterway embankments’ was worthy of nomination.
In the final, VNF will be up against nominees from Slovakia and the United Kingdom. The results of the biennial awards will be announced at a ceremony in Brussels on 24th May.
NEWS
First industrial pilot project was success
08/04/2012
In March, Watertruck carried out its first model project. And we are glad to report it was a success.
For two weeks, the waste processing company SEDE Benelux, together with the Port of Brussels, organised the transport of sludge according to the Watertruck principle. The transport route ran from the Aquiris water purification station in Brussels to Liège. The results of the project will be published in June. A brief preview of the report: “SEDE BENELUX considers inland navigation to be the most environmentally friendly and the most promising method of transport for the future.”
Curious about how we did it? Take a look at the film here.
Would you like to be kept informed of the results? Contact us via info@watertruck.eu.
NEWS
The first Watertruck pilot project will commence on 19/03.
11/03/2012
The first pilot will be organised in collaboration with the waste disposal company SEDE Benelux and the Aquiris wastewater treatment plant, and will take a maximum of two weeks. The project involves the transport of sludge from the Heros quay (Brussels) to a processing plant in the Liège region. Under the Watertruck concept, sludge trucks can continuously transport the sludge without provision for intermediate storage on the land side. This type of transport also opens up the possibility of combining tug-pushed barges with other types of transport throughout Brussels in the future. It should be possible to transport salt, glass and sludge from the wastewater treatment plant south of Brussels in this manner.
NEWS
Public consultation on a follow-up to the 2006-2013 NAIADES Action Programme
04/07/2011
The NAIADES
communication COM(2006)6 established the framework and defined the principles for an integrated inland waterway transport policy in the European Union, while the NAIADES action programme defined the actions necessary to implement the policy. The current action programme will end in 2013. In view of the implementation of the 2011 White Paper - Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area, there is a need to consider a follow-up to the current action programme in order to ensure a sustainable implementation of the policy framework...