Greener ships for cleaner air in Budapest

Abstract

With the modernization of the fleet and the regulation of emissions on the Danube, Budapest can take significant steps towards environmental protection and sustainability. From the perspective of the shipbuilding industry, three possibilities emerge for development: firstly, the construction of new electric passenger ships, which are emission-free but require significant infrastructure development; secondly, the conversion of existing ships into diesel-electric hybrid propulsion, which could serve as a practical transition towards emission-free navigation; and thirdly, the application of hydrogen technology in the propulsion system. The article examines all three possibilities, highlighting their environmental and economic impacts, and provides concrete recommendations from the Hungarian shipbuilding offering. The choice must be a compromise between sustainability and economic rationality, taking into account successful examples from other cities and the broader context of the modernization.