Oceans and rivers worldwide are contaminated with plastic waste. The shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen is taking action against this with the HiveX platform. A prototype is already in operation in Italy, another is being designed. Trainees play a major role in the project
In the course of its 115-year history, the traditional shipyard Abe[ds_preview]king & Rasmussen has always been willing to explore new avenues and to get involved outside its traditional fields of activity. So no one was surprised when the trainees got involved with a forward-looking project.
Through a TV appearance in 2019, Toralf Zimmermann, Head of Research, Development and Innovation at A&R, became aware of the association Pacific Garbage Screening. At that time, no one could have imagined that this would develop into a long-term and trusting collaboration. The association, now renamed EverWave Community, and its associated social startup, everwave GmbH, have declared war on plastic waste in rivers and oceans. »Every year, over 12 mill. t of plastic waste ends up in our oceans. We, the people, are responsible for this. Through our behaviors and consumption, we ingest tens of thousands of plastic particles per year, including through our food, clothing and hygiene products. This, in turn, can have an impact on our health. Our oceans are extremely polluted by almost invisible mountains of garbage. This plastic waste threatens biodiversity and the lives of all marine life. Animal food chains and habitats are being massively disrupted,« says Tilman Flöhr, CTO at everwave.
In order to protect the oceans from the masses of waste, everwave is already starting with the rivers, the main pathways for the plastic into the oceans. For this purpose, a stationary platform system was developed that continuously collects the plastic waste in an environmentally friendly way in order to recycle it afterwards. This is where Abeking & Rasmussen came in. Toralf Zimmermann remembers: »The commitment and enthusiasm for their cause made a lasting impression on me. However, there were some challenges to be mastered in terms of shipbuilding that did not necessarily correspond to the classic tasks of our design engineers.« Solutions were quickly found. In cooperation with the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management at RWTH Aachen University, two »primotype« test series were checked for functionality in the laboratory. These findings formed the basis for the realization of the first prototype.
This prototype was built by the apprentices of Abeking & Rasmussen. The training department of A&R, which has just been awarded Top trainer by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the umpteenth time – approximate 10 % of the workforce are trainees and have been for many years – became the construction site. Here, the buoyancy bodies were welded and the entire platform was assembled. For Helge Ziems-Gillerke, head of the A&R training department, this project was an exceptional opportunity to make a contribution to the environment with the ship-yard‘s junior staff. »Seeing the finished platform in the Weser and experiencing that the concept works was the absolute highlight for the trainees.«
The platform »HiveX«
HiveX is everwave’s stationary system and can collect plastic waste continuously, in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way. The platform is capable of collecting up to 5 t of plastic per day and is designed to allow fish to swim through it unimpeded. Its modular system allows it to be adapted to local conditions and it can also be designed in combination with other modules.
The prototype is already in use under real conditions. In Italy, near Padua, the platform is helping to reduce plastic waste discharge into the Gulf of Venice. This is far from the end of the collaboration between Abeking & Rasmussen and everwave. A catamaran for actively collecting plastic waste is in the design phase. This, too, is to be built by the trainees. »We are very proud that we can contribute to ridding our rivers and oceans of plastic waste,« says Toralf Zimmermann. ED
