Belgium: Hydrex Wins Energy Globe Award for 2012

On 30 May 2012 two delegates from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce at the Austrian embassy in Brussels, Mr. Peter Fuchs and Mr. Henry Simon, visited Hydrex nv in Antwerp to present the company with the National Energy Globe Award for sustainability for 2012. Hydrex won the award for Belgium for its Ecospeed non-toxic hull coating project.

Manuel Hof, Production Executive over Ecospeed at Hydrex accepted the award on behalf of the company.

In presenting the award, Mr. Fuchs said, “We present this award with our thanks to Mr. Boud Van Rompay who made this wonderful invention. The reason Hydrex received the award is because your company has really done a great deal for the environment, since the non-toxic hull coating system reduces the use of energy by 25%. We wish you a lot of success and we thank you for doing so much for the environment.”

“It is our duty and responsibility to assure that our young people will have an intact environment tomorrow.” With these words Wolfgang Neumann launched the ENERGY GLOBE World Award for Sustainability in 1999, today’s most prominent and prestigious environmental prize.

From all over the world, projects are showcased that conserve and protect our resources or that employ renewable energy. The goal is to present successful sustainable projects to a broad audience, for many of our environmental problems already have good, feasible solutions. Each year some 800 projects and initiatives from all over the world are submitted.

Purposes of the winning Ecospeed non-toxic hull coating system project

• To develop and implement a cost-effective, entirely non-toxic ship hull coating and fouling control system to replace existing toxic coatings and thus stop the ongoing pollution of the world’s oceans, ports and waterways by the use of heavy metal and other biocides.
• To develop and implement a system of ship hull coating and underwater cleaning which reduces propulsive fuel consumption of ships by 20% or more, thus reducing GHG and other emissions on the part of shipping by a similar amount.
• To develop and implement a ship hull coating and underwater cleaning system which is effective in preventing the spread of non-indigenous species.
• To develop and implement a ship hull coating system which provides complete corrosion protection for the lifetime of the ship without need of replacement beyond minor touch-ups.

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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, June 4, 2012; Image: hydrex