The River Thames is not only the thread that ties one of the world’s biggest cities together, but it is also the UK’s second busiest port used to transport forty million tonnes of cargo, ten million passengers and five million tonnes of materials per year. A huge range of vessels travel the 95 miles of water covered by the Port of London Authority (PLA) – ferries, workboats, tugs, tour boats - almost all of them powered by fossil fuels. With an eye to the air quality and low carbon goals being set for the rest of London, PLA set about creating a zero emission roadmap for the vessels on the Thames. For six months E4tech worked with PLA and the operators of vessels on the Thames to identify their needs and the possibilities, costs and implications of new technologies such as battery, electric, hybrid and biofuel propulsion. The exciting outcome is that clean options are on course to be viable for almost every type of vessel on the Thames. The detailed roadmaps and summary report cover every vessel type and set a direction of travel for operators, vessel builders and technology companies as they navigate towards a cleaner future for the Thames.

For more information about E4tech’s work in clean transportation see here or contact Adam Chase