Towards more sustainable sailing: Ecosailing and the smart improvement of ship energy systems

This project aims to develop a common research framework to support

the energy transition in the maritime sector, with a specific focus on ecosailing: the

incremental and systemic optimisation of energy use on board ships. Through

collaboration between AUHA partners, we want to develop a robust methodology to

identify technological, economic and behavioural bottlenecks using

a multidimensional model of a ship energy system.

The maritime sector is under increasing pressure to become more sustainable, but faces numerous

obstacles. Many ships have a lifespan of more than thirty years, which means that even the

most modern vessels launched today will still be sailing in 2050 with

obsolete combustion engines. Replacing these engines through retrofits is a slow and

labour-intensive process. Furthermore, a complete renewal of the fleet is not economically feasible:

investments in existing ships have often not yet been written off, and older vessels remain

technically usable for many years to come. Even in the case of newbuildings, it is difficult in practice to convince shipowners

to opt for alternative propulsion systems for economic reasons.

New, climate-neutral fuels and ships adapted to use this energy source

are under development, but their implementation is being delayed by higher costs,

inadequate infrastructure and unsuitable legislation. At the same time, many existing ships

operate inefficiently due to suboptimal use of energy systems. Moreover, the maritime sector

lags behind other transport sectors in terms of automation and the application of artificial

intelligence (AI). Our starting point is therefore that small-scale optimisations – in the control system,

usage patterns or component choices – can have a significant effect when approached

systemically.

Our central research question is: How can data-driven technological improvements and

changes in human behaviour contribute to a reliable, transferable and economically

feasible optimisation methodology in ship energy systems that supports the energy transition in the

maritime sector?

The aim of the work packages below is not to formulate a direct answer, but

to identify the building blocks available to prepare a larger collective project proposal

that can provide an answer to the question posed.