Within the scope of this transnational project, the aim is to valorise and optimize the technical as well the economic process of transforming traditional ships into hybrid ships, as well as improving the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of building new hybrid vessels that are operational for different maritime functions.

In order to improve the shipping industry decarbonisation and promotion of low carbon transport in/between ports, an option is to adapt the existing shipping fleet to hybrid ships as well as to build new hybrid vessels. The actual stage of technological development makes it possible to install hybrid systems (fuel & electric engines) on board existing ships, as well as to recharge them in a reasonable time. The same counts for the building of new hybrid vessels whereby new technologies can be combined with existing demands of shipbuilding and safety on board of the ships

WP1 Technical optimization of (the transformation & building of) hybrid vessels and the recharging technology. Recently there have been many developments in the construction of electric engines and production of batteries necessary to supply the energy of hybrid vessels. Nevertheless the installation of such an engine and battery-wall has a direct impact on the ship´s stability and functioning. POSH focuses on

• Transformation of a traditional engine Crew Transport Vessel (CTV) into a hybrid CTV, thus reducing the use of traditional fuels
• Building a new hybrid vessel
• Renewable energy production during maritime operations to recharge

WP2 business optimization including cost-benefit of retrofitting/building hybrid vessels and recharging technology. Recent developments have included not only the technical, but also the price level. Especially the batteries cost and size have gone down, which makes investing in hybrid ships more attractive. POSH focuses on:

• cost-effectiveness of the transformation process & of new hybrid vessels building
• cost-benefit analysis of renewable energy production & of wireless recharging systems

WP3 Industrial development and hybridization of shipbuilding. Due to hybridization technology evolution new skills must be developed in order to transform or build vessels with hybrid engines. To produce concrete results that impact on the transformation and construction of hybrid vessels on the regional development and the shipbuilding industry, a POSH transnational team will execute 2 pilots:

Retrofitting of a CTV used to transport crew to/from offshore wind parks

Testing of recharging system of a small ferry operational in fjords

Technical model for: -CTV stabilization in case of transformation/hybrid engine retrofit -renewable energy production for batteries recharging during operations at sea (wind/wave/sun); -installation of wireless batteries in new hybrid vessels in different climate conditions

New hybrid engine CTV

CO2 reduction in offshore wind-parks during maintenance & fjords during ferry operations

NSR transnational hybrid competence network

Economic model for: transformation of traditional CTV into hybrid engine CTV with same performance/safety indicators; -installation of production-systems for renewable energy for batteries recharging; -wireless recharging systems installation for new hybrid vessels

NSR transnational network expert on financial/economic impacts of ship hybridization

Identifying skills for vessel modification & conditions for wireless recharging installation & classification of modified/new hybrid vessels

Within the scope of the decarbonisation of the maritime transport in the North Sea (SECA-zone) and the shipping industry´s carbon footprint reduction, the refitting and the construction of hybrid vessels is a way to meet the concerned sustainability standards, provided that the energy needed for the hybrid engine is produced by renewable energy technologies.

The use of hybrid vessels is even more relevant as they are producing less pollution of the air and the water, and in that way, it needs more support than the construction of vessels, utilizing LNG engines or engines on methanol. Moreover, it is important that the offshore industry, which is an important sector in the North Sea, becomes more low carbon focused in order to produce clean energy and in a latter stage oil and gas.

Nevertheless, considering the limited seize of the vessels on the one hand and the actual stage of the technology for hybrid shipping that is permanently in evolution, on the other hand, there is still need for more knowledge of the use of hybrid engines on board of different types of vessels in order to realise the same or better output and production indicators than the traditional vessels, utilizing LNG or fuel engines.

Furthermore, as to the recharging of hybrid engines, it is important to optimize the available renewable energy in order to guarantee the cost-effective and low carbon operationability of the hybrid engines, as well to optimize the use of batteries for the same reason

Finally, considering the rapid evolution in the field of the construction and retrofitting of hybrid vessels, it is important that the same performance and safety indicators are guaranteed, so that it becomes a common practice to utilise hybrid vessels for certain maritime operations.

Flanders

• AGHO
• GEOXYZ
• Blue Line Logistics
• IDP Shipyard

Benelux

• Wartsila

Norway

• Sogn og Fjordane fylkeskommune
• Wartsila Norway

Countries:

• DK, DE, NL, SC, SE

Type of partners:

• Technical universities, Public ports, public authorities at the seaside

Industry:

• local ferry companies