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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ibnanv" data-source="post: 23732520" data-attributes="member: 218596">As we glide silently up Amsterdam's  busy waterways on an unseasonably warm autumn morning, boat company  owner Rik Kooij, 38, admits that "canal water runs in my veins". Ever  since his mechanically-minded grandfather renovated a bicycle, then a  motorbike, then a boat back in the 1920s, Mr Kooij's family has been at  the heart of Amsterdam's tourist canal boat business. The Prinses  Irene, which once took Winston Churchill up the canals, is silent  because it's electric. All you hear is the swoosh of the water being  churned up by the propeller. And there are no acrid diesel fumes to  spoil the experience. When Mr Kooij had to take the helm of the  family business following the sudden death of his father in 2013, he  wasn't daunted because he'd been working the canals since he was a boy.<img src="https://www.elakiri.com//www.elakiri.com//ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/125D1/production/_103771257_c48eed56-b5e4-4d46-94a8-cd06a6cab3ee.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The Prinses Irene was one of the first boats to be converted to electric Now the Reederij Kooij boat company he runs with his wife Daniela is  one of the largest plying Amsterdam's famous canals. It owns 32 boats  out of about 150 catering to the city's many tourists.But when  the municipality of Amsterdam stipulated that all boats would have to  switch from diesel to electric power by 2025, in an effort to reduce  pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, boat companies were faced with a  huge - and expensive - challenge. "We prefer to do everything  that is good for the environment," says Mr Kooij diplomatically, "but it  is going to cost us millions of euros. Too much! "But if we don't do it we won't get a permit to operate, so our boats will be just scrap metal." <img src="https://www.elakiri.com//www.elakiri.com//ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/11D24/production/_103769927_mediaitem103768796.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Amsterdam's canals were constructed in the 17th Century, circling the medieval city centre He has converted six boats so far - it takes about three months to  strip out the old diesel engine and install the electric engine and  batteries. A typical 23m (75ft) tourist boat needs about 66 batteries,  he says, making the conversion cost around 165,000 to 250,000 euros  ($189,000 to $287,000; £145,000 to £220,000) per boat.But the  engines are quieter, cleaner and cheaper to run - boat companies should  recoup their costs in about 12 years, according to the Paris Process on  Mobility and Climate, a body supporting sustainable transport projects. They  can be recharged in about 10 hours and last about two days between  charges, says Sigrid Hanekamp, an application engineer from Dutch  battery company Lithium Werks, which supplied the batteries for Reederij  Kooij's boats.These batteries are not your typical lead-acid  type traditionally used in cars, or even the type of lithium-ion ones  becoming standard in electric vehicles, she explains. They're  lithium-iron-phosphate, a chemistry Lithium Werks believes is more  durable and environmentally friendly.<img src="https://www.elakiri.com//www.elakiri.com//ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/745A/production/_103768792_mediaitem103768791.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Sigrid Hanekamp says Lithium Werks' batteries are more efficient than lead-acid batteries They might not be as energy dense as some other types of battery, but  they can be charged quickly and last longer than many other lithium-ion  battery chemistries, the company says. And as they use iron rather than  the much less plentiful cobalt, they're easier to produce and less  prone to price fluctuations.But isn't water and electricity a dangerous mix?Arjan  Kooijman, director of E-Ship, a firm that converts diesel boats to  electric, says connected sensors on the batteries are constantly sending  performance data back to the boat company's headquarters.Software monitors the health and charge of each battery. And if any  water does get in to the insulated unit, a fuse blows, isolating it, and  an alarm alerts the operator back at base."People used to think  it was impossible to make a big ship electric 10 years ago, but we've  shown that it can be done," says Mr Kooijman, whose company stands to do  a brisk trade over the next few years.By 2020, Amsterdam aims to  have decreased energy consumption by 20% and increased use of renewable  energy by the same percentage. The electrification of canal cruise  boats is a significant part of this plan.<img src="https://www.elakiri.com//www.elakiri.com//ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/ABDC/production/_103769934_mediaitem103769932.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Monitoring software tracks the performance of the boats in real time But another challenge the boat companies face is installing enough  dockside charging stations. Mr Kooij says he will have to stagger the  charging rota, as it doesn't make commercial sense to have one charging  station per boat. This is where a two-day operating range and  monitoring software comes in handy. If a boat skipper drives too fast -  there's a 6km/h (4mph) speed limit on the internal canals - and drains  the batteries too quickly, the software alerts headquarters, which then  warns the skipper. Amsterdam has been a pioneer in low-carbon  transport for many years. Back in 2009 the Lovers boat company launched  the first tourist boat powered by hydrogen cells<img src="https://www.elakiri.com//www.elakiri.com//ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/173F1/production/_103771259_om-330-00-channel-visual-2018-02-01-20180405232341-1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Electric zero-emission container barges, like this artist's impression, could soon be plying Europe's canals The Nemo H2 uses hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity - the only by-product is water vapour.And  earlier this year, the Netherlands and Belgium announced a plan to  launch zero-emissions, self-piloting container barges to sail from  Amsterdam, Antwerp and Rotterdam. The barges could remove 23,000 lorries  from the roads, claims Port Liner, the firm making the boats.While  retrofitting canal boats with electric engines and batteries is a  time-consuming and expensive task, Amsterdam is hoping the cleaner air  and waterways will attract more tourists, be better for wildlife, and  contribute to carbon emission reduction targets.Please look at link bellow for video and pictures<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45783085" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45783085</a></blockquote>

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