World’s 1st circular ship dismantling yard pushes ahead with the demonstration phase

Dutch startup Circular Maritime Technologies (CMT) has received a cheque for the €1.7 million grant from the Kansen voor West subsidy program, which is largely financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

The company said that the financing would be used for the first steps of CMI’s test and demonstration phase.

CMT aims to become the world’s first circular ship dismantling yard by developing and integrating technologies to automate the shipbreaking process while taking out the human element to secure a high standard of safety.

“With this project, we will test and advance CMT’s core technologies together with our strategic suppliers. The subsidy, therefore, enables the critical first steps towards circular, safe and competitive ship dismantling,” the company said.

As disclosed previously, the central technologies will be tested and improved in 2023, such as the wire-cutting technology with Huisman and the automated block processing with Grimbergen Industrial Systems.

The startup is being set up by ASECO Europe and engineering company KCI, which focuses on the oil and gas industry and the renewables sectors. The venture is part of the THRUST program based in the Netherlands, which stands for Towards Hydrogen-based Renewables Used for Ship Transportation.

 Other partners of the project include Damen Shipyards, Enviu, Fluor, Grimbergen Industrial Systems, Huisman Equipment, Jansen Recycling Group, Sea2Cradle, Sojitz Corporation and Stork.

The CMT project aims to launch soon its proof-of-concept prototype in the Netherlands, after which the goal is to set up yards with international partners and attract business from shipowners by matching the price paid by South Asian competitors.