SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY Ingenuity + Engineering at HIPER 2022 The 14 th HIPER Conference was the third such event held in COVID times. Advanced thinkers from research and industry met in Cortona, Italy, to discuss the future of shipping, with strong focus on decarbonization. By Volker Bertram © Goh Ken Goh demonstrated his expertise at the conference with drawings for onboard wind assistance systems The location in Tuscany was ideal: somewhere between Vinci, which gave us Leonardo and his ingenuity, and Lago Trasimeno where Hannibal defeated the Romans, relying on superior agility and tactical flexibility of smaller units. HIPER meets somewhere between the two with a unique community of maritime innovators. Think out of the box and be more agile than the competition. First-class engineering, creative ingenuity and entrepreneurship gel at HIPER – also this year, where COVID in its third year still constrained the exchange on site in numbers, but not in quality. This year, everything seemed to tie into decarbonization – the great Leitmotif for the industry as the 2023 implementation of CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator) and EEXI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) are looming on the horizon. Papers presented covered various aspects of the larger theme: • New fuels, of course. • Wind assisted ship propulsion, of course. • Smart is green, green is smart: optimization of design and operation through smart solutions The general trends were nicely summarized by Morten Løvstad (DNV) on the decarbonizing quest for future bulk carriers, discussing likely measures from now to 2050. In the short-term to maybe 2030, the required goals will be achieved through moderate engine power limitation, requiring only negligible sacrifices on speed, and tried and proven energy saving measures, which will be implemented just more stringently and wider than in the past. »Can we achieve 30 % energy efficiency improvement over the 2013 baseline, i.e. can we achieve the IMO targets for the EEDI, just by consequently exploiting existing, mature technology? Yes, we can,« confirms Løvstad, referring to the »Diamond 2« project for an Ultramax bulk carrier. Beyond 2030, the industry will have to leave the comfort zone of the tried and proven and explore largely yet unknown options including alternative fuels – it may not be time yet to set sails for this Terra Incognita, but we should definitely start gathering whatever information we can and start mapping our journey into the largely unknown. DNV did just that with shipyards in joint industry projects and came up with Ultramax and Newcastlemax design studies that combine a lot of options including wind-assisted ship propulsion and alternative fuel concepts (ammonia and methanol). Future fuels What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear »decarbonization«? For most of us, the answer is »future fuels«, specifically no-carbon fuels like ammonia or hydrogen replacing currently favoured low-carbon fuels like LNG. Not wrong, but focussing on the far horizon rather than the next steps for the majority of ships. There was wide consensus that the times are over, where one fuel would dominate the ship-ping industry, like HFO did pre-2020. The future is more complex and more diverse, and may evolve differently in different regions and for different ship type segments. Embrace diversity, also in fuels and associated machinery. LNG is a so-called bridging technology to other gases as fuels. Current machinery technology and regulations, such as dual-fuel engines or fuel cells, are being developed and tested for LNG, which will in the medium-tolong term benefit other fuels that will play a major role in the decarbonization process, namely hydrogen and ammonia. 56 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 10 | 2022
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY HANSA & HIPER »Innovator Awards« for Ken Goh and Lars Ravens Also this year, HANSA has presented »Maritime Innovator Awards« during the HIPER conference. Maritime Innovator Award The »Maritime Innovator Award« goes to Kenneth Goh, General Manager at Knud E. Hansen in Australia, a globally recognized innovative ship design office. He has contributed significantly to driving innovation not only at Knud E. Hansen, but also the larger maritime community, both in digitalization and decarbonization, striving for greener ships designed in a smarter way. His two papers at this year’s HIPER conference are prime examples: using Virtual Reality in the design process and the concept of a proa WindShip propelled predominantly by wind power. The jury singled Kenneth Goh out for various reasons. First of all, in the good tradition of all true innovators, he dared to leave the traditional comfort zone of naval architects, exploring new technology options, and questioning the »we have always done it this way« mind set. Secondly, his papers are concise and clear, avoiding pretentious jargon. As with many good ideas, once presented, they appear to be simple. It is the merit of Kenneth Goh to make us forget that the convincing larger picture presented is the result of much work and fine engineering minds at work. The designs and design processes of Knud E. Hansen, as presented by Kenneth Goh, can inspire future naval architects to follow the lead towards a better, greener, and smarter future – through innovation. Young Innovator Award The »Young Innovator Award« goes to Lars Ravens, Managing Director at eCap Marine, a Hamburg-based company dedicated to environmental-friendly and flexible clean power solutions. The common theme is having compact, mobile power systems that can deliver clean energy to multiple locations wherever and whenever needed. The first demonstrator of the mission of creating clean power solutions was in the port of Hamburg where the world’s first floating power plant, the Becker Power Barge »Hummel«, supplied LNG powered electricity to cruise ships. The portfolio has been widened, adding fuel cell and battery systems, and work-ing with many more gaseous fuels including Bio-LNG, Biogas, Bio-Methane, synthetic fuels, and of course with Green Hydrogen. Ravens combines entrepreneurship with engineering excellence in the best of traditions of the German »Mittelstand«, where rapid prototyping and agile product development were lived long before the buzzwords were coined. Rather than discussing political visions, he gets us all a concrete step or two ahead in the right direction – towards zero carbon shipping. His paper gives a concise and accessible overview of alternative fuels, with pros and cons, and particularly suitable applications. © Plowman Lars Ravens, Volker Bertram, Kenneth Goh HANSA – International Maritime Journal 10 | 2022 57
