In 2017, project manager Ronnie Koster of Rijkswaterstaat was involved in drafting new performance contracts for the regular maintenance of the main navigation routes in Eastern Netherlands. ‘To involve the market, we organized various market consultations,’ he says. ‘We received clear signals from market parties that they saw more opportunities to make navigation maintenance more sustainable. This has led to the request for the performance contracts being framed with a high sustainability ambition.’

Attractive Offers

The request included a requirement for at least 50% CO2 reduction and an evaluation criterion based on the MKI-value (environmental cost indicator) for fuel. This resulted in attractive offers. High scores on these points also played an important role in awarding the contracts to the 2 contractor combinations that now carry out the navigation maintenance according to the performance contracts: the combination of Heijmans and Martens and Van Oord on Upper Rhine and Waal, and the combination of Strukton and Van den Herik on Nederrijn, Lek, IJsseldelta, and Twentekanalen.

Even after the award, we continue to challenge the contractors in regular sustainability meetings to take further steps. They receive support from the transition path Coastal Line Care and Navigation Channel Maintenance, with which we promote sustainability in this field.

Compensation Triggers Innovation

Project leader Martijn de Graaf of Martens and Van Oord talks about the idea of building a fully electric workboat for the maintenance of groynes and hardened banks, the Volta. This led to a request for funding from Clean and Emission-Free Construction (SEB).

‘When assessing that request, the compensation we could receive for our plan initially seemed too low to make the investment responsibly,’ says De Graaf. ‘Such a new and multifunctional ship is very expensive.’ Martens and Van Oord did not give up. ‘We went back to the drawing board and scaled down the plans. A time-consuming search, taking about 3 years, followed. But ultimately, we received a commitment for a SEB compensation that better fits the associated investment with the new design. That is very valuable. Such a trigger is needed to pursue innovation, as it is an expensive hobby.’

Conversion Limits Investment

Jeroen Terlingen, manager of project support departments and MT member at Van den Herik, recognizes the challenge of ensuring that sustainable innovations are financially viable. ‘When Rijkswaterstaat asked us to pursue sustainability through this performance contract, we ended up at generating energy with hydrogen fuel cells. This makes you independent of the power grid and thus of charging points along the water.’

Van den Herik applies this innovation to a fully electric crane ship that was built in 2017 and is used for dredging work and stone deposits, the Prins 6. ‘By using fuel cells, the only source of emissions on board, the generator, is eliminated. Therefore, we are renaming the ship PrinZEs, a reference to Zero Emission. Having the ship already made the decision for this, still significant investment, easier.’

Conversations Show Trust

Besides money, investing in sustainability also requires trust, emphasizes Terlingen. ‘Rijkswaterstaat cannot guarantee that we can continue to use the PrinZEs after this contract. Therefore, it is important for us that Rijkswaterstaat looks for new opportunities and supports us. I find it strong that we can continuously put our questions openly on the table. The collaboration must be good. Parties on both sides must dare to stick their necks out. That is the case here.’ Martens and Van Oord has also experienced this trust, confirms De Graaf.

‘A powerful example is the relatively long duration of the performance contract. This provides a solid basis for investment. Additionally, it is important that the project teams on both sides maintain their ambition. That radiates trust, both outside and within their own organizations.’

Want to read more about the sustainability of navigation channel maintenance in Eastern Netherlands?

Then read the full article in the latest magazine Rijkswaterstaat Business & Innovation.