EU Research and Innovation Programme supports Bawat

16 August 2017

Press release

August 16, 2017

Bawat’s Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) is being viewed as a most promising candidate to underpin Europe's competitiveness in the global marketplace. To prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species, which can cause irreversible changes to the marine environment and ecosystems, vessels are required to comply with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ballast Water and Sediments by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Furthermore, when operating in the waters of the United States, vessels are also required to comply with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Standards for Living Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters.

The Bawat BWMS has been developed to support vessel owners to meet this new reality and has already been type approved by the IMO. The EU Horizon 2020 innovation grant, worth 2.4 million EUR, will enable Bawat to also meet the goal of system type approval by the USCG.

"By having qualified for support from the European Union Research and Innovation Programme (Horizon 2020) we have become part of an exclusive group of innovators. We see this as a validation of our system and of our company. The EU Commission is trusting us to become a solid player in this dawning market," says Kim Diederichsen, CEO, Bawat A/S.

The target for U.S. Coast Guard approval is by end-2018 and the process has been initiated.

   


This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 756288.

To read more about Horizon 2020, please click here