Day 2 - Thursday, March 14, 2024

The United States’ ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals, along with targets set by the International Maritime Organization, create an important opportunity to explore battery-electric options for the shipping industry. Our research highlights adopting battery-electric shipping solutions can help achieve substantial emission reductions, ensure economic viability, and contribute to a more sustainable future in the U.S. maritime industry. Our findings show that electrifying 6,323 domestic ships under 1,000 gross tons could significantly reduce GHG emissions, achieving a 34-42% decrease in 2035 compared to a 2022 level. We estimate the annual electricity required by these ships to be 7.7 terawatt-hours. In 2035, 69-88% of the 6,323 battery-electric ships could become more economically viable if they covered 99% of their historical trip demand, thereby lowering the overall costs of electrifying these ships by 33%.

Crowley's trailblazing electric tug will be delivered with ABB technology to employ autonomous and remote-control functions for navigation, maneuvering, and propulsion. This presentation will provide insight into why this technology was selected for use on the eWolf electric tug, how the propulsion system architecture facilitates these functions, an update on implementation and regulatory activities to date, and a discussion on goals and future roadmap.

When evaluating vessel hybridization, it's essential to begin by examining three primary pathways to vessel decarbonization: reducing energy demand through vessel optimization, transforming energy with greater efficiency with hybridization or electrification, and adopting the use of alternative energy sources such as green fuels.

By 2032, electric workboats are poised to make up nearly 12% of the $2.4B market globally. This presentation will explore the forcing-functions behind this trend, and solutions to this diverse market. The presentation will review data and lessons-learned from governments and municipalities, including a week-long trail with the New York Power Authority and demonstrations with the Canadian government and Rosborough Boats.

The presentation describes a novel magnetic transmission used in a new range of thrusters. The system gives optimised high-speed e-motor operation (compact and high efficiency) and magnetic gearing to provide low speed high torque output to the propulsor. The use of magnetic transmission to give a hermitically sealed system: deletes the shaft seal and eliminates leaks. The system operation and design is fully described and two production units (15kW/25kW rated at 6000m depth) are detailed.

Energy storage system (ESS) technology is rapidly advancing and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Next generation ESS are expanding the range of electric-powered vessel operations and improving system efficiency, safety, and lifetime, and each ESS design must be customized to the specific vessel requirements. These are critical factors that vessel owners and operators must navigate as they decarbonize their fleets. This presentation provides insights to help address those challenges.

This presentation will offer attendees an overview of FLEXSHIP, an EU funded concept project consortium representing a multidisciplinary group composed of 16 partners from 9 countries including the UK. The project is aimed at the electrification of vessels by optimizing large battery electric power systems within fully battery electric and hybrid ships. The overall goal of FLEXSHIP is to develop and validate safe and reliable, flexible, modular, and scalable solutions for electrification of the waterborne sector. This includes the reliable design and development of modular battery packs; safe on-board integration; optimal design of EMS to maximize the operational flexibility and energy efficiency, and smart control for improved lifetime of the battery system and critical power components.

This presentation will offer a compelling perspective on energy storage for marine vessels in the context of sustainability imperatives and evolving regulatory frameworks. It will highlight the challenges the marine market will face and the opportunities offered by lithium-ion battery storage. A selection of case studies will be offered, with a focus on precise cell selection, water cooling and active safety features.

This two-part extended presentation will take attendees through the process of planning, budgeting, specifying and building an electric vessel, and then the realities of operating one. In the first part, Ron Wille, president and COO of All American Marine, a leading manufacturer of vessels with hybrid-electric propulsion systems, will guide attendees through the major considerations: Assessing your current infrastructure and what you might need to upgrade it, the budgetary realities of building a hybrid versus diesel powered vessel, and the importance of being able to have an open dialogue with your chosen shipyard to convey your operational priorities. Having put the plan in place, the presentation will then look at specifying your vessel, how to consider the various architectures available and the role and selection of the integrator best suited to your needs. The presentation will then emphasize the most important piece of information a designer and shipyard can get: an accurate load profile and the problems and huge potential costs that may arise from inaccurate assessment. This first part of the presentation will conclude with a review of the various ESS (energy storage system) solutions. Part two of the presentation will be given by Joe Burgard, president at Red and White Fleet, a sightseeing and charter tour company operating in the San Francisco Bay Area of California for over 130 years. In 2018 the company added the first aluminum-hulled, lithium-ion battery plug-in hybrid vessel built in the USA to its fleet. Now in operation for five years, Enhydra allows Joe to present the realities of that operation, give a case study of the real-world ROI, help attendees understand the routine maintenance items and, most valuably of all, explain what changes that operating experience would lead to if Red and White were to start planning another such vessel.

This presentation will focus on ZEI's journey in creating the first commuter ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cells, along with an examination of what ZEI's hydrogen power and fueling systems can provide for the future.

Ammonia primarily serves as a fertilizer-based material to enrich crops, but its applications extend far beyond agriculture. As an accessible, lower-cost, and more energy dense solution than liquid hydrogen and battery electrification, ammonia is gaining traction as an alternative fuel to decarbonize the hard-to-abate sectors, such as maritime shipping. This presentation will compare the pros and cons of ammonia to other alternative fuels. The presentation will also discuss Amogy’s progress in constructing the world’s first ammonia-powered vessel set to sail in 2024 and explore the pathway towards commercializing ammonia-based power solutions for the maritime industry.

This presentation provides a case study of a soon-to-be-constructed 2,000hp pusher boat, the Hydrogen One. It compared GHG and regulated emissions for the fuel-cell-powered option against Tier 3 diesel engines. E1 has pioneered methanol steam-reforming to generate hydrogen for fuel cells in maritime vessels. The study uses a comparative emissions model that was validated by Thetius, an independent maritime research specialist. The presentation will outline the practical insights gained, offering real-world emissions reduction solutions. Utilizing 48,000 hours of data from similar vessels, a 24-hour load profile mirroring Hydrogen One's expected operations was developed. Comparing fuel consumption and emissions, the results demonstrate the advantages of methanol-reforming with green methanol over diesel engines. Even with gray methanol, significant reductions in greenhouse gases and regulated emissions were observed.

This presentation will describe how the ability to install fuel cells late in the construction process benefits vessel designers and builders. Once installed, their redundancy allows performance to be maintained even in the result of unit failure and for the swap-out to be easily achieved. Along with the ease of servicing on board, this provides compelling reasons for their use in many marine electrification scenarios. A case study will demonstrate these benefits.

Combining energy storage together with fuel cells, plus a green fuel, such as hydrogen, takes zero-emission technology one step further. It provides an efficient solution to expand the range and flexibility of zero-emission operations and enables new emissions savings for longer-route and larger vessels that previously were not achievable. This presentation will outline benefits of the technology and share insights from the multi-year development and testing of a marine fuel cell system.

The presentation focuses on the use of various hydrogen-based fuels in fuel cell solutions. It covers the potential benefits and challenges of adopting these fuels, and discusses their efficiency, environmental impact and cost-effectiveness. Real-life examples of their application in ships and the need for infrastructure development and supportive regulations are emphasized. The goal is to advocate for a transition toward cleaner maritime transportation through hydrogen-based fuel cell technologies.

The hybrid-hydrogen design of this new vessel represents an innovation in the maritime industry. Currently, conventional diesel engines on ships emit greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants. Development of this and subsequent zero-emission vessels is essential to the University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative. This new vessel will feature an innovative hybrid propulsion system that integrates hydrogen fuel cells alongside a conventional diesel-electric power plant, enabling zero-emission operations. The design is scaled so the ship will be able to operate 75% of its missions entirely using liquid hydrogen fuel. For longer missions, extra power will be provided by clean-running modern diesel generators, with a plan to replace those with methanol when technically feasible, to eliminate fossil fuels from the vessel entirely. The vessel represents a major step in advancing California's pledge to reduce global climate risk while transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy.

The emergence of electrical and hybrid systems transforms vessel performance, covering hull, on-board systems, shore facilities, and grids. The electrical integrator's vital role ensures seamless coordination and shapes overall system performance. This presentation spotlights evolving performance dynamics and the integrator's critical role. Notable projects, such as MV Medstraum (fully electric) and MV Buquebus (world's largest electric passenger vessel), will be featured. The integrator has a key role in shaping vessel performance encompassing the hull, on-board systems, shore facilities, and grid connections. A collaborative approach involving the integrator, designer, and operator consistently leads to the optimal solution. The integrator is best positioned to provide advice on solutions tailored for future growth.

Owners and operators are evaluating what to do with the fleet of existing midlife vessels and one option is to retrofit. Retrofitting ESS onboard such a vessel could have a positive impact on the overall operational cost of the vessel in terms of reduced emissions, reduced running hours, increased fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs. It could also allow the vessel to be powered by the shore grid, and in some cases short zero-emission runs can be achieved. This presentation will explore the scope, supply and considerations in designing, integrating and implementing a retrofit project. Different vessel types have diverse needs, and the presentation will touch upon how to use these various applications, and how they will integrate with the existing systems already installed on board and with the shore power systems.

When electrical systems are expected to support power converters capable of integrating alternative sources, storage systems and battery storage with a range of voltages, frequencies and power levels, the electrical power requirements expand. As a result, challenges in system design and protection appear. In SMART and sustainable power grids, DC is the power distribution system of choice but cannot be safely deployed without the necessary protection. In this presentation, Peter van den Berg gives an overview of the challenges and solutions in system design and topologies such as closed bus tie, multi bus and ring systems. Also, challenges in standardization and regulations will be discussed. There is special attention to solid-state DC breaker technology. This technology plays a crucial role in protecting onboard DC grids against short circuit currents and power overload, as it’s capable of switching off within microseconds.

The marine industry has been swift to embrace electrification, spurred on by environmental concerns, regulatory pressures, and a desire for quieter, cleaner vessels. Yet, what if a transition to electric propulsion offered more than just compliance with green mandates? This presentation will explore the untapped advantages waiting to be harnessed by boat designers and manufacturers, showing how these innovations not only revolutionize drivetrain design but grant freedom in shaping vessels of tomorrow.

This presentation will provide a background on government and DHS interest in alternative energy for maritime assets. It will also discuss our recent collaboration with HSWERX, a non-profit that collaborates with the government on alternative energy for maritime assets. Lastly, we will detail DHS’s requirements for alternative energy for maritime assets and present an overview of the selected alternative energy technology DHS is investing in.

Last year, the IMO released an ambitious strategy to cut global shipping emissions, including a 2030 target for zero-emission fuel uptake. Regional policies and subsidies are further accelerating shipping decarbonization. Shipowner/operators are responding with mounting orders for methanol and ammonia vessels, the first of which have been delivered. Still, uncertainty around future fuel choices, costs, and infrastructure, as well as a disaggregated value chain, make for a challenging environment. Green Corridors tackle this uncertainty by solving for a specific shipping lane, enabling coordination across the value chain to plan and execute the most feasible path to zero emission fuel deployment.

In this presentation, Xiaoli Mao, Marine Program Lead of The International Council on Clean Transportation discusses how they use real world data and techno-economic analysis to help the shipping industry move towards decarbonization in a Paris-aligned pathway. She will also provide some ideas to prioritize the choice of fuel and propulsion technologies.

This presentation consists of an update on maritime alternative fuels as a pathway to achieve a more sustainable global shipping industry. It will discuss the opportunities and challenges in implementing alternative fuels within the given timeline defined by the IMO (International Maritime Organization). The model selection criteria were based on their relevance to the maritime shipping business, mainly attributed to their roles in ship classification and registry. Current findings indicate that the success of alternative fuels depends upon various factors related to technology readiness, including supply chain robustness, infrastructure preparedness, financial conditions, and most acutely acceptance of emerging technologies by maritime industry professionals and leaders.

Adopting hybrid and electric propulsion introduces new validation challenges. This presentation emphasizes how beginning validation early can prevent blackouts and budget overruns for complex marine projects. Using a recent hybridization case study, the presentation will explain how early engagement with a validation partner supported the design and delivery phase of a project and identified integration flaws and implemented control system and hardware corrections pre-delivery before delivery preventing subsequent blackouts. Attendees at this presentation will learn best practices for the validation process, including parallel design and test planning activities. Following the case study, practical recommendations for early engagement will be provided.

This presentation will explain the use of CHIL in the development of ABBs Azipods and Drives. It will use real world examples of the challenges and benefits involved.

This presentation will describe a use case for a marine data collection solution for voyage feedback and logging. It combines a mobile application and an in-house developed sensor hub. The mobile app allows vessel owners and operators instant access to real-time data on fuel costs and emissions. It provides them with options to optimize their performance and reduce fuel consumption while minimizing their environmental footprint. The optional sensor hub can gather high-resolution data from standard and custom marine sensors. The solution is called PerforMarine™ and with-it vessel operators can project the fuel cost savings and emission reduction benefits of converting a vessel to hybrid propulsion.