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They are hard-working, there in Hendrik-Ido Ambacht. Whereas in the hydraulic engineering sector there is a lot of talk and philosophizing about electric or hydrogen-powered ships, Groeneveldt Marine Construction BV simply engineers and builds them. The company's success has everything to do with its hands-on mentality and down-to-earth farm approach. Klaas Groeneveldt, originally a farmer's son, started building ships 14 years ago. "I just got into it. We started with repowering ships, which grew into building complete ships for road and waterway construction companies."
With sustainability, the demands also went up, Klaas believes. "We simply grew along with the market demand. However, we translated the desire to have cleaner engines as a result of the stricter requirements further. We now give our customers the option of ordering an electrically powered vessel with battery technology, or one that is electrically powered using a hydrogen fuel cell. Road and waterway construction companies are the ideal target group for this. This is because they always work locally and thus have enough battery charge. This also makes bunkering hydrogen easier. For ships that have to travel long distances and are very heavy, electrification or hydrogen is still a challenge. For smaller ships that work locally, however, we have a perfect solution."
It is noteworthy that Groeneveldt is taking the lead in this process. "We can do that because the industry is leading the way. Suppliers have yet to follow and clients are still taking a wait-and-see attitude. That does not alter the fact that we are already coming up with appropriate and, above all, mature solutions. We listen to the customer and deliver customized solutions. A suitable product that is precisely tailored to the application. And the beauty? Everything is simply affordable without subsidy, we make sure of that. This is the only way we can accelerate. In business terms, we are therefore following the greening trend, which is also currently occupying the civil engineering sector. Everything can be made green, but the higher the power required, the higher the investment. That's why advance advice is so important, and we're always honest about that. So every ship we build is unique in that sense and comes from a personal contact with the customer."
"When we build a ship now with a clean diesel engine, it is delivered future-proof. We have already taken into account in engineering a future engine change, to electric propulsion. So everything runs on diesel, but at the same time is prepared for battery," Klaas concludes.
