The MariData project provides important contributions to improving the energy efficiency of ship operations and reducing emissions
Energy efficiency has always been a key concern for shipbuilding and shipping. Whereas economic reasons dominated the motivation to search for a low power requirement for ships in the past, ecological reasons and compliance with legal regulations to reduce emissions become increasingly important today. These demand a consistent strategy of energy efficiency as well as a significant reduction of exhaust emissions, not only during ship design and construction, but also during ship operation.
As a result, the Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH (HSVA) and leading partners from the maritime industry launched a large-scale project at the beginning of the year. The goal is to develop comprehensive technologies for the energy management of ships and, in return, reduce emissions from ship operation. In addition to HSVA, the following industry partners participate in the project: AVL Deutschland GmbH and AVL Software & Functions, Carl Büttner Shipmanagement GmbH, Friendship Systems AG and 52°North GmbH, the Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems e.V. The academic partners include the Technical University of Berlin, the Technical University of Hamburg, the University of Lübeck and the Maritime Centre of Flensburg University of Applied Sciences.
Project partners and associated shipping companies collaborate to develop a future-oriented energy management and decision support system based on rational methods that take into account current operational status data and geo-information. The energy consumption of merchant ships is largely determined by their hydrodynamic properties and the systems on board. In some cases, up to 90% of the primary energy consumption is used for propulsion and must be optimally managed. MariData’s aim is to develop, improve and classify simulation-based modules for ship energy management. These modules will use a carefully selected combination of state-of-the-art maritime technologies and experience, as well as AI-based tools and methods for a groundbreaking product for a holistic ship energy and operations management.
Geo-information, a Decision Support System (DSS) that brings together technical, environmental and economic data, and energy consumption information will be integrated into a platform for use on board the ship, as well as on shore by a shipping company. The platform will provide on-line simulations for decision support to the ship’s management, as well as assistance with short-term, medium-term and long-term forecasts and decisions related to ship operation.
MariData’s innovations lie in the precise determination and analysis of the current ship’s drag, propulsion and respective fuel consumption under realistic operating conditions. These take into account wind and wave influences and hull/propeller conditions. Based on the rational analysis of the influences of the individual components, the quality of the forecast and the basis for navigation decisions improve. Integration with state-of-the-art geoservices takes the system to a new level. In addition, the consortium will consider and integrate flexible approaches to quickly generate missing data (e.g. geometry) into the analysis.
More information about the project will be made available at www.maridata.org.
The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
