Improving ships' energy efficiency
The shipping industry is a significant greenhouse polluter, because in spite of exceptions, most ships use poor quality fuel and shipping traffic overall is increasing. A combination of legislative and economic pressures drives the international quest for greener shipping. Europe responded with an earlier project, COOPERATION, which aimed to improve ship energy consumption. The EU-funded 'Targeted advanced research for global efficiency of transportation shipping' (TARGETS)(opens in new window) project built upon the work of COOPERATION. The new 11-member undertaking aimed to identify the factors in cargo ship energy consumption, especially resistance and propulsion, and how they might be optimised. The consortium also planned a simulator design system. The research project ran between December 2010 and March 2014. TARGETS investigated the main hydrodynamic causes of energy consumption. Also studied were promising technologies for auxiliary energy generation, management of on-board energy consumption and the holistic integration of technologies. The team examined operating scenarios, furthermore conducting integration, simulation and benchmarking studies. Research results delivered design innovations that will improve shipping energy efficiency.
