Career Paths: Mats Nyfors, Wärtsilä

In this context, he urges industry leaders to take proactive steps in shaping the future of sustainable fuels, emphasizing that leveraging today’s technology can future-proof new build projects for tomorrow. He concludes with his personal motto, “You’ve got to let go of who you were, to become who you will be,” and explains that this can also apply to the maritime industry, which is sometimes stuck in its current ways of working. In that regard, he encourages us to embrace new ideas and methods to move forward.

SAFETY4SEA: How did it come about that you joined shipping industry and your field of expertise specifically? 

Mats Nyfors: Having grown up in a small fishing village along the coast of Finland, I have had a keen interest in marine life and a strong awareness of the threats posed by the various sources of pollution on a global scale. This passion for the marine world grew considerably through scuba diving. This motivation coupled with my engineering background, has enabled my career path at Wärtsilä, giving me the opportunity to collaborate with other specialists in exhaust treatment and propulsion systems, to truly have a positive impact on the marine environment for future generations.

S4S: What about your current job/ role most excites you and why?

M.N.: My current role includes the creation of next-generation zero-emission vessels through the integration of a broad portfolio of marine decarbonisation products and services, including engines, propulsion, hybrid electric solutions, sustainable fuels, fuel cells and energy saving technologies. I am enthusiastic to be supporting the shipping industry in its decarbonization efforts, GHG reduction targets, energy-efficient vessel design and switching to sustainable fuels for engines cost-effectively and safely. Cleaner and more efficient shipping will result in less pollution, especially local emissions in Sulphur oxides (SOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) along the coast, will reduce premature mortality due to air pollution from international shipping. In the integrated system and solutions team, we look at how all the systems can work together to create further energy savings, e.g. using excess charge air from the turbocharger to the Air Lubrication system and using the Organic Rankine Cycle to achieve further energy savings. I am excited to see new technologies mature and how we can best integrate them onboard.

S4S: What is the best and what was the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given and why?

M.N.: Best advise – Where there is a will there is a way – because determination, perseverance and creativity are needed to think of what tomorrow requires from us today.

Worst advise – That is just the way it is – If we accept the status quo and give in, then there would be no hope for a better tomorrow.

S4S: What is the most worthwhile career investment (in energy, time, money) you’ve ever made?

M.N.: I would argue the best career investment has been my education at university, as it provided a good foundation for my later professional roles. Further continuous learning is of course important, and spending time talking to experts in various fields is the best way to keep up to date with the ever-changing maritime landscape.

S4S:  If you could give a piece of advice to your 18-year-old-self one thing, what would it be and why? What piece of advice should you ignore?

M.N.: I would advise my younger self, to be curious and have the drive to push forward, the rest will sort itself out along the way. Sometimes we all get caught up in dealing with the details and forget how we are part of a bigger picture. Once you have visualized the whole picture, is will be easier to find the missing pieces of ideas and knowledge and bring all the puzzle pieces together.

I would ignore any thing that implied that the efforts of one young person, cannot help bring about positive changes in the world around him.

S4S: In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your business life?

M.N.: As a father of two young children, I get to see the optimism and eagerness with which they speak about what we will do tomorrow, and you can feel the burst of excitement and anticipation. This optimism for the future, along with time management and a positive attitude towards collaboration and sharing of ideas on international discussion platforms, has assisted me in my development.

S4S: What would you like to change in the current maritime landscape and your area of expertise specifically and why?

M.N.: I would start with a decisive international decarbonization policy with clear regulations and timelines for phase out of the fossil fuels. The policy would provide a level playing field for global shipping industry and include the consequences of non-compliance. The policy measures include carbon taxes and emission limit, which would incentivise the adoption of sustainable fuels by ship operators and for fuel producers to ramp up production and being able to deliver the sustainable fuels globally. Further, shipyard capacity would need to be boosted for the thousands of sustainable ships needed.

As we see rapid changes in the marine industry, industry-wide collaboration is needed where I hope that all stakeholders think in new creative ways to reach the decarbonization targets, focus on efficiency measures and sustainable fuels to fully decarbonize shipping.

S4S: What is your personal motto?

M.N.: I do not have any personal motto as such, but I do find this quote inspirational: “You’ve got to let go of who you were, to become who you will be”. Just like in the case of personal growth, the maritime industry is sometimes stuck with the current way of working. New ideas and methods are needed to bring us forward.

The views presented are only those of the author, do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA, and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.