Page 29: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2024)

ROY CAMPE, CTO, CMB.TECH

But as important as the growth required to service the equipment, it from electric to charging to the fnal within the company is key, so too is could stretch and break all of the back- audits. the growth externally in the form of end support needed to run a smooth “It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, you have partnerships with OEMs and growth operation, from building, supplying and workshop where trucks come in and in technical capabilities. “Doing a staffng new workshops; to building drive out [converted to hydrogen fuel]; prototype is easy, but to make money and maintaining the procurement team hey, yeah, let’s do that over there.” and operate something in the feld, you that can not only create, but sustain the Organization of people, processes, need after sales care, spare parts. That’s new network. technologies and suppliers must be what our industry requires.” “This is the business what we do: organized well in advance – including

Going back to his own hydrogen port equipment, trucks and our ships. legal and risk managers which now fueled car and the diffculty in fnding Yes, we are on a fast track for growth have to write contracts premised on the a technician to solve a problem, Campe still, but it’s more like controlling our new technology – continually refning said in the real-world maritime busi- growth, because otherwise, at 100 and improving the process.

ness, “You can’t do that with a ship; it mph, we go into the wall. We don’t And while CMB.TECH is open with costs a lot of money daily.” want to crash.” its business model, Campe stresses that

But growth for growth’s sake is not As anyone may expect, the path for it is neither easy to follow or free.

the end game for Campe, and in fact Campe and his team are anything but “We have been doing this since he sees the need to apply the brakes at smooth sailing, with many hurdles still 2017, and we are always thinking times, as CMB.TECH’s hydrogen remit to cross. When thinking on the big- about how we can do it better,” said extends beyond its ships and includes gest challenges, he counts building out Campe. “This is not free of... we don’t hydrogen fueled port equipment and his engineering team – attracting and give it away. We show people, but I trucks, with the hydrogen conversion retaining the people CMB.TECH needs know it’s not that easy.” taking place in-house. To grow the – and managing business and the network effectively, expectations as the effciently, there is a need for a network biggest challenges.

of technicians to service the equipment “People see some- too, which only solidifed Campe’s ra- thing and they think tionale to center on combustion engines we can do every- with dual fuel capability. thing overnight,”

Even the guys who are doing mainte- said Campe. But nance on combustion engines are happy what the industry is to look into [CMB.TECH’s dual fuel seeing, what CMB.

hydrogen engine], because [with all TECH has done, is electric engines] they feel like, “Hey, just the tip of the

I’m going to lose my job. I know noth- iceberg. Whether ing about electrifcation, electric cars; you’re talking about so tell me, how does your technology a new hydrogen dual work?” And then they see how simple fuel vessel, as the it is: if this fuse is broken, just swap it shiny new workshop with the new one; if the injector ring is where CMB.TECH clogged, just swap with the new one. converts the port

It’s a familiar technology and engine vehicles to hydro- space. “So that’s why we do it more gen, the workload gradually, because we have so much far transcend simply inquiries for new projects. I said ‘no, building the solu- focus on hotspots, because we are not tion and “bringing in able to train technicians everywhere a the molecule;” there ship is coming in, this will need time.’” permitting, contracts

Expanding too fast, too far would not and maintenance, only stretch the technician base that is sourcing everything www.marinelink.com 29