How can a dolphin’s tail cut carbon emissions?

Retrofitting ships with innovative engine and propulsion technologies inspired by nature can make sea transport more efficient, and significantly reduce emissions.

Transport and Mobility

Global emissions from maritime transport are over a billion tonnes of CO2 per year, and the industry has proven hard to decarbonise due to the powerful engines needed to propel modern container ships. The EU-funded SeaTech project developed a pair of innovative, reciprocating technologies that can significantly cut fuel consumption and therefore emissions. The project has now been featured in the CORDIS series of explanatory videos titled Make the Connection.

The first element of SeaTech’s solution is an oscillating fin shaped like the tail of a dolphin. Attached to the bow of a ship, it stabilises the vessel in rough seas and harvests energy from the waves to power the engine. In addition, SeaTech developed a dual-fuel engine that uses liquified natural gas in addition to heavy fuel oils, producing less methane and carbon dioxide. “Assuming just 10 % of European short-sea vessels were to be retrofitted in such a way, 32.5 million tons of CO2 would be eliminated annually,” says project coordinator Anders Öster.

‘Make the connection with EU-science’ is a series of explanatory videos focusing on the scientific content and exploitation aspects of EU research projects.

Keywords

SeaTech, maritime, transport, engine, propulsion, emissions, biomimetic