On the evening of November 22, 2018, the associations of the gas industry presented the German Gas Industry Innovation Award for the 20th time in Berlin. AIDA Cruises was honored in the category Mobility & Transport for building the world’s first LNG cruise ship, AIDAnova, as part of its “Green Cruising” concept.
In their statement, the jury explained that AIDA Cruises is a trailblazer for the use of low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the cruise industry. With AIDAnova, the company is putting the world's first ship into service that can be powered with LNG both ashore and at sea. At present, LNG is the lowest emission fossil fuel available for ships.
AIDA Cruises has been researching and exploring the practical use of low-emission LNG in the cruise industry for over 10 years.
Year after year, the company invests millions of euros in the development and implementation of new, more efficient environmental technologies on board its ships. As early as 2011, AIDA Cruises commissioned the construction of the world’s first cruise ships that can be supplied with LNG at port. Following this, in 2015, the decision was made to build the first cruise ships that can be powered with LNG at port and at sea.
In addition to AIDAnova, to be put into service in December 2018, two more of these innovative cruise ships will be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg by 2023. The use of LNG virtually eliminates emissions of particulate matter and sulfur oxides. Nitrogen oxides and CO2 emissions are sustainably reduced. At the “Zukunftswerkstatt ERDGAS – Marktplatz der Innovationen” (Natural Gas Future Workshop – Marketplace of Innovations), which also took place on November 22, 2018, in Berlin, AIDA Cruises informed audience members from government, business and science about the use of LNG for cruise ships and the subject of shoreside power. The company plans to retrofit all ships in its fleet for supply with shoreside power by 2020 – another important “Green Cruising” initiative.More information on AIDA’s commitment to environmental protection can be found in the annually published sustainability report “AIDA cares” at <link https: www.aida.de aidacares>www.aida.de/aidacares.
Information on AIDA Cruises’ diverse cruise program is available at travel agencies, at the AIDA Customer Center at +49 (0) 381/20 27 07 07, or online at <link https: www.aida.de>www.aida.de.
About the German Gas Industry Innovation Award:
Currently under the auspices of Anja Karliczek (CDU), Federal Minister of Education and Research, the German Gas Industry Innovation Award has been presented for twenty years now. The award categories are innovative products, efficient energy concepts, research and development, and mobility and transport. There is also a special award for start-ups. The award aims to recognize developments and concepts that prove to be exceptionally innovative for industry, trade, or science. The gas industry associations include the Association for the Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Use of Energy (ASUE), the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW), and the initiative Zukunft ERDGAS e. V.
