Objectives and Impact
This COST Action aims towards contributing to a higher level of sustainability in shipping, combining several technologies to improve energy efficiency by reducing the amount of CO2 emissions along the ship routes at sea or in inland waterways.
The Action covers the aspects of emissions assessment, hull design, main machinery and fuel selection, the use of wind and solar energy, ship weather routing and the use of machine learning techniques to predict the behaviour of the ship as well as the optimal solutions for the combination of the different technologies for several operating conditions.
As a result, the amount of emissions can be reduced due to increased energy efficiency and the ship will comply with the international regulations.
State of the art
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants absorb sunlight and solar radiation in the atmosphere, trap the heat and make the Earth hotter [1]1. The shipping fleet, both deep sea and inland waters, has a significant contribution to this Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, even though shipping is the least environmentally damaging mode of transport compared to the other modes of transportation.
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), 90% of world trade is carried by sea to support the import and export of goods and thus sustains the modern world. It has been reported that the total number of ships in the world fleet increased in 2019 by 35% compared to 2015 and by 51.5% compared to 2010 [2]. This large number of existing ships forced the IMO, which is mainly concerned with maritime safety, to adopt, through the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), a wide range of measures to control the shipping industry’s pollution in support of the global action towards climate change mitigation. Therefore, the shipping industry is under the large pressure of decarbonising waterborne transportation within a relatively short time frame.
The “green shipping” or “sustainable shipping” is an objective for the shipping industry to transport goods without GHG emissions. This could be achieved with the development of new fuels such as liquid natural gas (LNG), methanol, hydrogen, or ammonia, together with the simultaneous development of maritime engines to operate with those fuels and the creation of infrastructures in the major ports to supply those fuel types to the shipping industry. Present forecasts suggest that this may only occur after 2040. In the meanwhile, the industry has identified several short- and medium-term measures to reduce GHG emissions.
Short-term measures include the development of dual-fuel engines that allow the use of alternative fuels and advanced emission control technologies that reduce emissions. Several vessels already operate with LNG as the secondary fuel in this type of engine. Reduction of fuel consumption and associated emissions can be achieved through design improvements and adoption of several technologies, as well as properly managing ship operations. Several topics have been suggested each with its technologies, including the improvement of ship hull and appendages design, the use of alternative fuels and the management of operational conditions, improving onboard energy efficiency and appropriate route planning.
Total number of ships in the world fleet increased in 2019 by 35% compared to 2015 and by 51.5% compared to 2010
Specific Objectives
Research Coordination Objectives
The overarching research coordination objective of this initiative is to bring together researchers and stakeholders, who can advance the state of knowledge and innovation in sustainable shipping technologies. This encompasses optimising vessel design, propulsion systems, energy sourcing, and exploring cutting-edge solutions like wind energy integration. Through this objective, this Action aims to contribute significantly to the transition of the maritime industry to “green shipping.” By strategically addressing the technical and engineering complexities associated with decarbonising waterborne transportation, this objective will catalyse advancements in energy efficiency and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Given the variety of technologies possible to contribute to emission reduction, the importance of bringing together in a pan-European network the researchers that work in different technologies is of paramount importance and can lead to important advances due to synergy effects.
This Action presents a systematic framework to evaluate the sustainability of different types of technologies used in the maritime field to mitigate exhaust emissions based on a detailed simulation of each technology. Overall, this Action will broaden the understanding of different aspects affecting technology selection, generate insights for the stakeholders, influence the decision-maker and support the transport policy measures.
Capacity-building Objectives
This Action will provide capacity-building activities in line with the mission of the COST Actions, as detailed hereafter. It provides a platform and forum for efficient networking and exchange of information, which should allow synergies to be created among the various participants. The short and medium term measures necessary for the decarbonization of waterborne transportation are of different natures, and the capabilities to develop individual technologies are typically held by different participants in the Action, which will very much benefit the networking possibilities offered, allowing synergies to be created from the analysis of the simultaneous action of different technologies and their interactions. The sharing of experience and feedback from ongoing or completed research projects will very much benefit the consortium as a whole.
These activities will aim to reach out to new participants extending the reach of the network within the industry and policy decision makers. Through networking between researchers, industrial partners, policy and decision-makers, the necessary interdisciplinary flow of information between stakeholders will be achieved. It is expected that the networking activities will involve talented researchers from all ages and genders promoting the advancement of early career researchers and contributing to gender equality.
These networking activities should enhance the cooperation between the involved research organizations, which can be materialised in joint doctoral research programs and in the generation of new international research projects, which are very useful for the valorisation of young professionals in
terms of research and innovation. This cooperation can also be realised by the easier access to the experimental facilities of participants.
This Action will also support the interdisciplinary education of Early Career Investigators (ECIs) with different backgrounds, such as naval architecture, mechanical, environmental and transportation engineering, economists etc., through different types of actions such as Training Schools, Short Term
Scientific Missions (STSMs) and workshops.
The promotion of STSMs will contribute to overcoming the inequalities between countries and even the inclusiveness of ITCs, which have already an important representation in the core group. This would contribute to providing equal opportunities for all researchers with regard to national and EU programs.
The Action will actively contribute to balanced gender representation, although some representatives of the core participants are already females. To foster further female participation this Action will encourage their involvement in various groups and decision-making bodies in this network and to take leadership roles.
Contribute to the development of numerical models towards maritime sustainability
Assess the performance of different technologies to achieve a reduction in emissions
Foster capacity building throughout Europe
Identify the technological and economic aspects of each system onboard from a life cycle point of view
Influence the decision-makers and support the transport policy measures
Impact
This Action acts towards shipping’s decarbonisation, identifying and formulating the measures that can increase the ships’ energy efficiency, resulting in a significant reduction of air pollution and GHG from the shipping industry to comply with the UN 2030 agenda of climate change mitigation.
The Action can have a significant impact and will combine several advanced technological solutions that can improve the hull shape, use advanced and controllable marine diesel engines with advanced and clean types of fuels, to take beneficial of the wind to operate the ship and thus reduce the exhaust emissions. Based on the increased availability of data, machine learning and other state-of-the-art tools can be used to find the optimal performance as well as to provide accurate predictions for several ship conditions. While the new technologies considered in this project are still under investigation and can be expensive, in the long term, the ships will become compliant with the limitations of international regulations. Higher levels of emission reduction, in particular the CO2 emissions, will be expected to comply with the plan of 2030.
The socioeconomic impact of the proposed Action lies in its potential to influence decision-makers,inform policies, promote sustainable practices, enhance industry knowledge, and contribute to economic growth and job creation within the shipping industry. More specifically, it is anticipated to generate:
1
Knowledge and Insights for Stakeholders
The Action’s systematic framework and assessment of technologies can provide valuable insights for stakeholders in the maritime industry. This knowledge can contribute to informed decision-making, potentially leading to better resource allocation and strategic planning.
2
Influencing Decision-Makers
and Transport Policies
The project’s aim to influence decision-makers suggests that the findings could impact policy measures related to waterborne transport.
By evaluating technologies for emission reduction, the Action can help shape regulations and policies that encourage sustainable practices, potentially driving positive changes in the industry.
3
Supporting Transport Policy Measures
The explicit mention of supporting transport policy measures implies that the Action’s outcomes can contribute to the development and mplementation of policies that promote sustainability and emission reduction in the maritime sector. This can lead to a shift toward more environmentally friendly practices and technologies.
4
Broadening Understanding
of Technology Selection
By broadening the understanding of factors influencing technology selection, the project can assist stakeholders, including businesses and policymakers, in making choices that align with sustainability goals. This can have positive socioeconomic effects by fostering responsible decision-making and efficient resource utilization.
5
Dissemination of Knowledge
The project plans to disseminate the outputs and facilitate knowledge exchange by publishing papers in high-ranked international peer-reviewed journals and presenting at important conferences, organizing training and knowledge exchange events, potentially leading to collaborations, innovative solutions, and enhanced expertise.
6
Enhanced Competitiveness and Job Market
The project’s focus on assessing both technological and economic aspects of onboard systems suggests that there could be economic benefits for businesses that adopt sustainable technologies. This can enhance the competitiveness of businesses in the maritime sector, potentially leading to growth and job creation.
