Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Hi GEN Marine Turbin (Feasibility study into a portable wind turbine for ships which connects to the existing ships crane)
Reporting period: 2017-01-01 to 2017-05-31
The study includes a data collection campaign, an economic analysis, risk assessments, a market study, and identification of potential Phase 2 opportunities.
During the course of the project the team collected and examined AIS data for 52 vessels for a period of 120 days. We also examined EU fishing fleet statistics from 2008 to 2015. From these sources, it appears that a typical vessel can be expected to spend somewhere between 70 and 80% of its time in port. This statistic is reasonably stable across variations in vessel type and size, and does not appear to be significantly affected by season. This statistic does not necessarily represent time spent stationary with a generator running or consuming shore power, which will depend on the manning level of the vessel, and whether items such as heaters or dehumidifiers must be used when the vessel not in service. This needs to be established on an individual vessel basis. We have seen figures for in-port generator utilization time from 25% to 100%, with 100% being much more common.
This analysis illustrates that vessels are in-port and stationary a significant portion of the time (70-80%) which indicates that it is not necessary to cross-reference time spent stationary with weather conditions, as the average weather conditions in each port will be sufficient to draw conclusions. It is also not necessary to try and estimate a general figure for time spent stationary outside of port, as it is not a significant portion of the time.
An investigation into the energy usage involved both data collection and numerical modelling of individual user types, in order to draw a conclusion in terms of the vessels use of fossil fuel, and the subsequent generation of emissions. Throughout this time in port vessels are, in the large part, inefficiently generating electricity for their vessels using on-board or shore based diesel generators.
Technology was then applied to the model, using both renewable energy generation, and energy efficiency techniques in order to determine how much of this fuel and emissions were avoidable. By examining different means to prevent this fuel usage using known technology through evaluating the case studies in terms of emissions we believe there is the potential to save up to 7308kT of Co2 emissions each year from the shipping sector, and a global market size of €2.9b. These present staggering numbers of positive commercial and environmental impact.
During Month 1, the team undertook the planning of the project in order to determine all aspects required to achieve the objectives of the project proposal. In addition during this time we conducted the procurement of equipment, and obtained permission from vessel owners for access to vessels.
February, March and April were spent out in the field obtaining information and data from a broad range of stakeholders - this information gathering varied from meetings with both government bodies, customers, suppliers and field data collection of vessel movement, energy consumption and general customer needs.
Data Collected during course of Project
1. Vessel Electrical Load, typical and peak
2. Vessel time spent consuming electricity while stationary.
3. Installed generator size
4. Generator fuel consumption rates
5. Price of diesel
6. Servicing costs of diesel generator
7. Cost of technology and performance requirements
8. Emissions related to diesel fuel consumption
9. Regulations regarding emissions, carbon trading etc
10. Information gathered through regular meetings with customers, government agencies, and supply chain partners.
11. Technical and commercial risk assessment and appraisal.
During the later stages of the project, (Months 4 & 5), this information was then analysed through the use of numerical modelling in order to quantify, and qualify the impact of the problem, and how far the application of the proposed technology can go to solving.
The key conclusions of this project are as follows:
1) Vessels spend a significant amount of money on the provision of electrical power when in port. From our research, we found that the average vessel spends approximately 80% of its time in port, and will typically be running a diesel generator constantly to provide electrical power.
2) The cost of running a generator (capex and opex excluding fuel) can be expressed as a cost per hour, because the generator service schedule and lifespan is expressed in hours. This figure can range from 1 euro per hour to over 2.5 euro per hour depending on the vessel.
3) We have created economic models which account for the vessel generator size, generator running cost, fuel cost, average electrical load to calculate savings of both CO2 emissions and cash, and return on investment of an in house developed renewable energy and / or energy efficiency systems.
4) The estimated return on investment calculated is highly dependent on the specific vessel parameters, with generator running cost, fuel cost, and generator utilisation time varying dramatically from vessel to vessel. Given a specific set of vessel parameters we are now able to rapidly evaluate potential systems.
6) Our research shows that there are no insurmountable technical or commercial risks to the proposed system, or directly comparable competitors.
7) By examining different means to prevent this fuel usage using known technology through evaluating the case studies in terms of emissions we believe there is the potential to save up to a maximum of 7308kT of Co2 emissions each year from the shipping sector, with a global market size of €2.9b.
The results of this work were disseminated from our company stand during Sea Fest 2017 in Galway Ireland. We continue to welcome any interest in the project and can be contacted at info@daretech.ie
It has been observed that vessels of length 12 - 80m LOA are, and continue to be inefficient when in port in order to meet the electricity requirements of the vessel. In broad numbers, the inefficient use of fossil fuels in this application could be responsible for many tonnes of CO2 emissions, of which up to a maximum of 7308kT of Co2 are avoidable. This is a huge problem for the environment which is fully avoidable through the application of both renewable energy generation and energy efficiency techniques, in particular those that are being developed at DARE Technology in Ireland.
On the back of this study, Dare Technology now aim to set about piloting the technology and proving both the emission savings, and the cost savings to the customer - we will do this through the application of Phase 2 SME Instrument in order to develop take the next step toward market ready technology to solve the problem identified in this study.