The extent of shipping decarbonization and reduction of air pollutant emissions remains limited, despite the development of greening technologies. This is particularly valid for existing inland vessels and coastal ships. A large scale retrofit of the fleet would accelerate the greening transformation. However, there is a wide variety of ship types with different power and energy demands. Alternative fuels require more space on board and/or more frequent bunkering. The infrastructure for such fuels is scarce, and their future price levels are uncertain. Most measures are associated with considerable investments. In addition, the existing regulatory framework does not provide an adequate support. The question arises: which retrofit solution is the most adequate for a ship of certain dimensions, type, and operational profile?
To answer this question, SYNERGETICS (Synergies for Green Transformation of Inland and Coastal Shipping):
• creates synergies between all involved stakeholders with the goal to provide a catalogue of retrofit solutions which can accelerate the green transformation of inland vessels and coastal ships.
• demonstrates the greening capacities of retrofit by implementing hydrogen and methanol usage in internal combustion engines;
• addresses the greening potential of hydrodynamics improvements;
• contributes to electrification of fleets by further developing swappable battery container services and power management systems.
The main activities of SYNERGETICS are:
• Exploration, to explore the techno-economic possibilities for implementation of alternative propulsion solutions in the waterborne transport.
• Synchronization, to build upon past, ongoing and upcoming pilots.
• Demonstration, to demonstrate the viability of retrofit solutions for different sea-going and inland navigation vessels.
• Integration, to merge the knowledge collected in Exploration, Synchronization, and Demonstration and to develop the Catalogue of the greening retrofit technologies.
• Acceleration, to accelerate the rate of uptake for innovations flowing from SYNERGETICS.
