SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGYSmart and Green towards Net ZeroTechnologies for Future Ships and Future Shipping« is again the overarching theme for the17 th HIPER Conference. Advanced thinkers from research and industry will meet to discussand present smart and green solutions for the decarbonization challenges. By Volker BertramSmart design tools support the quest for ultra-efficient cargo ships© SiemensAvantgarde engineering, creative ingenuity,entrepreneurship and shipoperators come together at HIPER – alsothis year, where again the course is set onnet zero shipping. The goal is clear; andso is that getting there will be a journey of10,000 steps and a manifold of contributingtechnologies and smart solutionswill be invoked along the way.The solutions are smart and green, andoften smart is green. Decarbonization remainsunchallenged at the top of the maritimeagenda – for good reasons. 2024brought the first CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator)ratings for shipping companies,and many read »can do better« or »indanger of failing«. The EU Emission TradingScheme (ETS) is starting to be felt andFuelEU is starting this year with itstightening screw on the horizon. The heatis on! And the industry will have to danceto its tune, whether we like it or not. Weneed to move – and we do! The practicaldreamers meet again, and there is a spiritthat sees the challenges also as chances,focusing on solutions rather than lamenting.HIPER is not a forum for politiciansand lobbyists, but engineers and managerswho get things done with ingenuityand entrepreneurship. Solutions presentedcover various aspects of decarbonizingshipping:• New fuels, the associated machineryand e-technology, of course.• Wind assisted ship propulsion, of course.• Smart “optimized” solutions for hull,antifouling, operational load profiles,etc., of course• But also soft levers, like training, motivatingcrews for energy efficiency andways to use Artificial Intelligence to reducethe human factor on the operationalside.In the short-term, say within the next 10years, IMO’s decarbonization goals willbe achieved through tried and provenmeasures, which will be implementedjust more rigorously and wider than inthe past. The industry stays within itscomfort zone, and many of the measuresto reduce CO2 emissions pay for themselvesthrough fuel savings. Employingthese »conventional« measures, alreadysignificant progress in energy efficiencycan be achieved.The latest MCN energy efficiencyguideline presented by Marioth (Idealship)lists many such measures, withshort descriptions and ranges of whatmay realistically be saved. By now in its4th edition, the MCN guideline is a valuablesource of information – and availablefree of change. Ship-type specific decarbonisationmeasures are discussed byBertram (DNV) in »Towards Net-ZeroContainer Ships«.Beyond 2030, the industry will have toleave the comfort zone of the tried andproven, and explore largely yet unknown46 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 04 | 2025
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGYoptions including alternative fuels – butthe process of exploration has alreadybegun. Assorted R&D projects, onnational and EU level, are preparing theground and HIPER 2025 gives us somesneak previews into the post-2030 future.New generations of ships will be muchmore energy efficient than those of thebaseline average of 20 years ago. Betterdesign procedures, innovative hull andpropulsion designs, wind assistance, andeven better coatings with lower roughnesscontribute to lowering the EnergyEfficiency Design Index.What is the first thing that comes toyour mind when you hear »decarbonization«?For most of us, the answer is»alternative fuels«, such as biofuels, ammonia,methanol, or hydrogen, as discussedin an DNV overview contributionon »Alternative Fuels and Direct ElectricPowering for Shipping«.Alternative fuelsThe future of alternative fuels in shippingstarts now, with exploring alternativefuels in on-board practice. The mostlikely candidates are known, but muchneeds to be done on the ship side, such abest-practice regulations and guidelinesfor design and operation. And open questionsremain on worldwide availabilityand affordability of most alternative fuels.But why should one invest a lot of energyinto producing synthetic fuels, whenone could directly use electricity to drivea ship? The answer lies mostly in theweight and space requirements of batteriesand still relatively small power ofcommercially available fuel cells. Forshort-sea shipping, e-propulsion is fine,for deep-sea shipping we may consider atbest hybrid solutions. This year »hybrid«is a recurrent keyword; combine and conqueris a popular strategy also for shippropulsion. Think big, start small.Kai Buchloh (Schiffstechnik Buchloh)shows that »green« can be sleek and cool– and economically attractive, presentingassorted »Hybrid and Fully Electric Ferriesfor Green Public Transport«. »Theend result is a design that combines whatis technically feasible, what makes economicsense, what is legally permissibleand what is aesthetically best.« LukasKistner (Hyundai Europe R&D) appliessimilar concepts to large-scale passengertransport in »The Role of SOFC-hybridPowertrains in Cutting OPEX and EnvironmentalLevies for Cruise Ships«,© Schiffstechnik Buchlohwhere the flexibility of a mix of combustionengines and fuel cells allowssmarter operation and fuel savings.But the cheapest fuel remains the oneyou don’t pay for. Which brings us to windassisted ship propulsion (WASP), whichhas been an evergreen topic at HIPER foryears now. The basic idea is appealing, andthe images catch the eye, but take-up ofWASPs so far has been lagging behind thehopes of many in the community. Whateverthe reason, it is neither lack of innovativedrive nor lack of engineering knowhow.Both are impressively demonstratedat HIPER this year.Nico van der Kolk (Albatros Digital)presents a semi-empirical design tool forwind-assisted ships as »a step towardsmarter, more efficient wind-assisted shipdesigns«. Sven Albert (Numeca) presentshow a high-fidelity CFD approach originallydeveloped for Americas Cup yachts(and budgets) can be used also for designingwind-assisted cargo ships.Comeback for Sail Cargo vesselsGreen can be sleek – a hybrid ferry designSiegfried Wagner (HS Emden) goes a stepfurther. He applies the design tools to thedesign sail cargo ships with a special keelconcept, which were built for the MarshallIslands. Yes, sail cargo ships areback, even if – so far – small in numberand size. The designs are smart, withusing excess wind to recharge batteries orhydrogen production to be used whenthere is not enough wind.The first phase of decarbonization hasits focus on energy efficiency, and this islikely to continue as we move to costly alternativefuels and electrically poweredships, where making the most of eachkWh is key. Which leads us to optimization.»The term ‘optimization’ is widelyused, but often the term ‘improvement’would be more appropriate«, sets KarstenHochkirch (DNV) the record straight.While hull and trim optimization are almostold hat by now, he presents this yearan eye-catcher in more than one sense. Inhis latest work, he applies the samemethodology as for hull optimization tothe shape optimization of a windshieldfor a containership, reducing the aerodynamicresistance of the vessel for variousspeeds and wind directions.The trend is towards more complexmachinery and propulsion systems, combininge.g. wind assistant propulsion withdiesel-electric propulsion, fuel cells withdual-fuel diesel engines, etc. As the designsget more complex, so does the designprocess. Digital Twins support thenaval architects in the challenges of designingthe ships of the future.The second largest lever after speedmanagement is hull management, and theindustry gets increasingly aware of it. Thecurrent state of the art is based on biocidalantifouling coatings, which raisesconcerns about the introduction of largeamounts of biocides and microplastics.The goal of all stakeholders is net-zerobiocide in antifouling solutions, but as forCO2 emissions, we will not realisticallyreach this goal overnight. Even around2050 may prove to be challenging.Petter Andreassen (Jotun) challengesthe prospect of fast and easy solutions in»Biocides in Antifouling Coatings: DoWe Still Need Them?«. »Copper is a crucialingredient in the majority of antifoulingcoatings and is expected to continueto play a key role in sustainable foulingprotection«. This may be so, but the roleof biocides in future antifouling is gettingHANSA – International Maritime Journal 04 | 202547
