Low-energy ships, green-fuelled ships, electric ships,digital ships,Arctic ships,virtual ships
DNV has highlighted six key areas that offer significant potential for innovation and we believe these will be at the core of R&D in the next ten years.
The low-energy ship
Multifunctional ship types and/or technological advances in drag reduction, propulsion and materials are expected to support new ship concepts. Significant efforts have been put into creating energy-efficient ships over the past couple of years, and further progress will be achieved between now and 2020.
The green-fuelled ship
Reductions in the permitted emission levels of SOx, NOx and particulate matters will result in the use of cleaner energy sources. Abatement technologies such as exhaust gas recirculation, scrubbers and catalytic reduction as well as the use of LNG and biofuels will be further exploited.
The electric ship
“The Prius of the Sea” could contain diesel-electric configurations, marine fuel cells, battery packages, solar panels or retractable wind turbines, and superconducting motors. Such complex powering systems will require energy production to be designed, operated and controlled in an integrated manner.
The digital ship
“E-navigation” is not new to shipping and by 2020 most of the fleet will have installed such systems. The onboard electronic charts will become the unifying platform on the digital ship, and will also integrate security, navigation risks, port entry information, weather routing and similar needs.
The Arctic ship
Increases in Arctic ship traffic over the next decade will lead to the faster development of Arctic-related technologies. These include ice-route optimisation software, hull-load monitoring systems and maybe the introduction of new ice-breaking concepts.
The virtual ship
In order to manage the risks inherent in innovative solutions, there will be wide use of model-based techniques for assessing novel concepts and technologies. These include assessments of the ship’s technical and economic performance from a life cycle perspective.
Source: Tore Longva, DNV
