Significant CO2 savings possible with collapsible container
Collapsible shipping containers pollute the environment less than traditional steel containers. Of all the containers transported by road, around 40 per cent are empty. When folded they occupy only a quarter of the space. Two Dutch organisations want to bring the collapsible container to the market.

The design of the steel shipping container dates back to the 1950s. Suggestions for a collapsible version have been cropping up for around 30 years, yet the rigid steel container is still around. The climate problem may finally change this.

The Cargoshell is the brainchild of the Rotterdam businessman René Giesbers: a collapsible container made of composite, with a bamboo floor. The production of composite generates 300 to 400% less CO2 than steel or concrete production. Thirteen kilometres of shipping containers are manufactured every day, so a lot of CO2 emissions can be saved. There is now a prototype, a container that can be folded up by one person in 30 seconds. The advantages of a collapsible container are great, says Giesbers. One truck can transport four empty containers. That saves energy and CO2 emissions and avoids tailbacks. Worldwide, the transport of empty containers by sea costs 20 billion dollars a year.

At the same time as Giesbers, four businessmen from Delft are aiming to bring their own container design to the market. They have set up a company for that purpose: Holland Container Innovations (HCI). Their container is made of steel, but when folded occupies the same space as that of Giesbers. One of the partners in HCI is the Port Authority of Rotterdam. Kees Joosten, innovation manager of the Port Authority, thinks that the collapsible container will have to clear some big hurdles before it can be used in practice. Four full containers have to be transported to their destination by four trucks. You need just a single truck to take back all four containers empty, but then what happens to the other three? The revolution still has to take place in the logistical domain. Giesbers agrees. We will have to work more with distribution centres for more efficient logistics. He is currently having conversations with several companies about how to bring the container to the market. HCI will issue its own report on it to the Port Authority in mid-July.

Source: Change Magazine