Europe cannot afford to sleepwalk into Chinese-built electric corridors
AI Summary
Europe faces strategic choices regarding the control of electric shortsea vessel technology, including yards, batteries, port infrastructure, and software standards. The shift from pilot projects to commercial deployment raises concerns about Chinese influence in electric corridor development.
As battery-electric shortsea vessels move from pilot projects to commercial deployment, the strategic question is no longer whether the ships can work, writes Wolfgang Lehmacher. It is who controls the yards, batteries, port power, software and standards that will define the next generation of coastal trade. When Norway’s Eitzen Group ordered two fully electric 900 …