ALTERNATIVE FUELS
HOLISTIC DESIGN PLATFORM TO COMBINE LOW-EMISSION TECHS A new design platform being developed as part of the EU CHEK project will initially be used to design a near-zero emissions bulk carrier and a cruise ship, but it is also expected to expand holistic design concepts to other vessel types. The three-year deCarbonising sHipping by Enabling Key technology symbiosis on real vessel concept designs (CHEK) project will get underway in June 2021. It is being undertaken by a consortium consisting of the University of Vaasa, Wärtsilä, BAR Technologies, Cargill Ocean Transportation, Climeon, Deltamarin, Hasytec Electronics, Lloyds Register, MSC Cruises, Silverstream Technologies and the World Maritime University. The project will design a Kamsarmax bulk carrier that will use wind energy and a Meraviglia-class cruise ship that will operate with a Wärtsilä engine running on hydrogen fuel. It is estimated that by combining these and other technologies, including batteries, heat recovery, air lubrication and new anti-fouling technology, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 99%, energy savings of up to 50% can be achieved and black carbon emissions can be cut by more than 95%. Several key enabling technologies will be demonstrated in practice on actual operational ships. “Shipping of the future must combine emerging technologies into a systemically symbiotic entity,” says CHEK project coordinator, Dr. Suvi Karirinne, who heads VEBIC, University of Vaasa's energy and sustainability research platform. To support this, the project will develop the FutureProof Vessel Design Platform to provide a way of combining new technologies as favourably as possible. It is expected to then also be applied to other vessel types, such as tankers, container ships, general cargo vessels and ferries. MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMISATION A central challenge will be identifying how each solution contributes to overall CO2 emissions reductions. Mia Elg, R&D Manager at Deltamarin, says the company will use its digital design tools including energy simulations as a starting point to resolving what she considers will be very complex, multi-objective optimization problems. “Many of the ships we design today will still be in operation in 2050, so it's exciting to be an engineer today!” However, she says that it is also important to remember that the best fuel savings are actually the result of having a smart operational strategy as well as an optimized design and new technologies. There's still much to be saved by simple operational optimisation such as slow steaming, minimising port times and weather routing. For some ships, this can lead to savings of around 20%, although in others, shipowners believe that they've done all they can, says Elg. Another important component is the vessel design optimisation including hullform, maximising cargo capacity and the combination of technologies such as waste heat recovery, batteries and wind power. A third path to decarbonisation is zero or low-carbon fuels. Elg emphasises the growing importance of teamwork, not just designer, shipowner and yard but also, increasingly, technology and data providers. Deltamarin has been building
22 | MARCH 2021
capability to facilitate this. A previous research project resulted in the company being capable of analysing larger amounts of data, faster, for its energy models and simulations. They can now also be run in a cloud environment. “It's really important to establish the savings claimed by technology providers,” says Elg. “But how do we actually, technically, do that? How do we actually get enough data to simulate the energy savings, because, for sure, we are not going to be sharing all the relevant, detailed models protected by IP. We have to establish good ways of sharing the data so that we can all have our own IP protected while being able to simulate, together, what the combined result is of all the technology and operational design choices we're making.” She notes that many of the partners have already worked together extensively and is positive about the project's success.
8 Deltamarin's digital design tools include energy simulations to address "highly complex, multi-objective optimization problems"
WIND ASSISTED BULKER Consortium partner BAR Technologies aims to achieve annualised savings of up to 30% via its solid wing sail array, WindWings, for the Cargill Kamsarmax bulk carrier. The vessel will also feature energy storage, waste heat recovery, air lubrication and an automated, optimised vessel routing system to take advantage of prevailing and forecast wind conditions. Wärtsilä's contributions to the bulk carrier concept will include system integration, including hybridisation, energy storage and shore power connections. The company will also be developing a compact and modular fuel-flexible 4-stroke powertrain for reduced fuel consumption and optimum efficiency.
For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101
