The second H2SHIPS Paris workshop was held online on June 17th. More than 30 participants representing French river waterway managers, public authorities in charge of certification and environmental protection, ship builders, vessel owners and energy utilities participated in this event that focussed on the presentation of preliminary results. The objective of the H2SHIPS workshop was to gather feedback from local stakeholders on dedicated activities in Paris, which aim to provide an action plan for the implementation of a first ecosystem for hydrogen powered ships on the Seine.
The event started with a presentation of the latest project result by project coordinator Christian-Frédéric Berthon from EIFER and was followed by a presentation of Morgan van Honacker from project partner HAROPA on the current regulatory framework for hydrogen applications for inland waterway transport in France. Frédérique David from SYCTOM unveiled the results of a prefeasibility study on the use of hydrogen-fuelled barges for the transport of household waste in Paris, and partner HAROPA PORT closed the presentation session by disclosing the first results of its study on potential locations for hydrogen refuelling facilities along the Seine river. A Q&A session allowed participants to discuss open questions with the H2SHIPS partners and to exchange on the status of hydrogen projects in the Paris region.
A third workshop is planned later this year, as well as a presentation of the conclusions of the H2SHIPS activities for Paris. The H2SHIPS consortium hopes that this last event can take place in person and that the results will pave the way for the roll-out of hydrogen bunkering and propulsion solutions for shipping in Paris.