ETI announces details of waste heat recovery project which could help to cut emissions and fuel consumption in shipping

• The £3.6m project will be led by Avid Technology based in North East England
• RED Marine Limited and Royston Power, also based in the North East, and France’s Enogia S.A.S will also work on the project
• The 26 month project aims to deliver a cost effective waste heat recovery system for all types of ships which will be demonstrated on an offshore support vessel

The £3.6m project will be led by Avid Technology who are based in Cramlington, North East England.

They will work alongside RED Marine Limited of Hexham, Newcastle-based Royston Power and Enogia S.A.S. based in Marseille to deliver a cost effective waste heat recovery system for use across all types of ships.

The 26 month project should see the waste heat recovery system installed on an offshore support vessel by end of 2018 ahead of a further six months of testing.

Unlike the power and heat sectors and other forms of transport there does not seem to be a credible alternative to fossil fuels to power vessels, so in the medium to long term, the best potential to achieve substantial CO2 reductions is by reducing fuel consumption.

Fuel efficiency in shipping can be improved by reducing the electrical load provided by the ship’s generators, through recovering heat energy from the exhaust stream, in addition, substantially reducing the temperature of the exhaust gas by converting the heat to electricity.

The technology being developed in the ETI’s project should be capable of being deployed on a range of marine vessels, including chemical tankers, general cargo vessels, container feeders, offshore support vessels and roll on roll off passenger ships.

Paul Trinick, the ETI’s HDV Marine Waste Heat Recovery System Project Manager said:

“The ETI has recently published an insight report which analyses the UK shipping fleet, the potential opportunities for ship owners and operators and identifies the most promising technologies that could reduce fuel consumption economically.

"We have established that a 30 per cent reduction in fleet fuel consumption can be achieved by using a combination of innovative technologies, including waste heat recovery systems, with an approximate payback period of just two years.

"It is important that we now develop and demonstrate this technology to provide confidence to shipping owners and operators that it can deliver tangible efficiencies and savings under real world conditions.”

Ryan Maughan, founder and managing director of AVID Technology, which specialises in the design and manufacture of electrically powered systems for low emission vehicles said:  “Unlike other forms of transport, the marine industry has yet to establish a credible alternative to fossil fuels so the immediate priority is to achieve substantial carbon dioxide reductions by reducing fuel consumption.

"The technology solution we are targeting with our partners is based on improving fuel efficiency by recovering heat energy from the exhaust stream therefore reducing the electrical load provided by the ship’s generators and by lowering the temperature of the exhaust gas by converting heat to electricity.”

This project is one of a number of demonstrations currently being commissioned by the ETI that will seek to reduce emissions and increase the efficiency of shipping fleet.

The ETI’s report “Targeting a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency for marine vessels” can be found at http://www.eti.co.uk/insights/targeting-a-30-improvement-in-fuel-efficiency-for-marine-vessels

Related

Rwanda Plan Set To Become Law After Parliamentary Battle

By Caitlin Doherty

23 Apr