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News about Conoship’s sustainability and blue economy practices
Wind Assisted Propulsion Solutions are making headway
/1 Comment/in Innovation, News, Sustainability /by Conoship-AdminConcept Design for Zero Emmision Shipping Presented at IMO London
/in Innovation, News, Sustainability /by Conoship-AdminOn Monday 11th of November, a week after winning the Dutch Maritime Innovation Award 2019, we informed at the IMO Headquarters in London the members of the 6th Intersessional Working Group on Green House Gasses (IMO ISWG GHG 6) on the actual possibilities of Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) with the Award-winning eConowind-units and VentiFoils to enable Zero Emission Ocean going shipping.
We presented in a ZESTAs mini-seminar in the Grand Assembly Hall of the IMO Headquarters (see picture), on behalf of Econowind BV that is a member of ZESTAs: the ‘Zero Emission Ship technology Association’. The development and principle of the eConowind-unit and VentiFoils were introduced very briefly, focusing on the practical application on the MV Lady Christina of WijnneBarends and the MV Ankie of Van Dam Shipping from Spijk. Retrofitting these wind propulsion units on existing vessels enables those vessels to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions while maintaining the same speed up to levels of 20 % in favourable Bft 5 wind conditions. Actual developments were presented for new Short Sea Shipping designs of Conoship International, that can save more than 50% on fuel and CO2 emissions in favourable 5Bft wind conditions, by application of 2 VentiFoils of 20 m (foldable) on the foreship and an additional 2 Foldable VentiFoils on flatracks of 12 m on the hatches. These two can be handled with the hatchcover crane.
As various IMO delegates are representing countries with large bulkcarriers in their Flag-register, there was quite some interest in the possibilities of the 30 m VentiFoils XL (under development, scheduled for 2020/2023) that can be retrofitted on large bulk carriers in between the cargo hatches. Based on actual results with smaller VentoFoils, it can be expected that on ocean going bulkers sailing at speeds around 11 kn, more than 50% of propulsion power can be generated by six 30m VentoFoils XL at favourable Bft 5 windconditions, depending on size of the vessel and characteristics (and age) of the engineroom installation. The annual average savings in fuel and CO2 emissions are largely influenced by the windconditions of the operational area of the vessel. Saving up to 30% on average annually can be a realistic forecast for the example of the North Atlantic crossings.
This was rather positive news for the IMO delegates of the ISWG GHG 6, because their main focus in this weeks meeting was to discuss possible objectives, methods and regulations for existing vessels, to support and enable IMO’s ambition to reduce ‘the CO2 intensity’ by 40% in 2030. This means that the CO2 emission per ton-mile per ship should be reduced by 40% compared to the level in 2008, as an important step towards IMO’s main ambition to realize a reduction of 50% of the CO2 emission of the complete worldwide fleet of seagoing vessels in 2050. One of the discussed possibilities for the reduction per ship is ‘slow steaming’: reducing the speed of the ship so much that the consumed fuel (= CO2 emission) is 40% less per ton-mile than in 2008. The application of VentiFoils XL will enable the ships to reduce a large part of the CO2 emission at the original speed and will become a very interesting option to realize IMO’s ambition.
The other ZESTAs partners each presented their solutions for emission reduction:
- Futureproof Shipping: a 110 m inland navigation vessel that will be retrofitted next year with batteries and fuel cells and will than be sailing 100% zero emission;
- Nedstack: delivering fuel cells already up to 2000 kW and larger powers are under development;
- Hyon
- SPBES
- Conoship – Econowind: eConowind-units and VentiFoils, plus a new Zero Emission Concept design for the ‘CONOSHIP 33000 ZE’ (Zero Emission) integrating the other zero-emission solutions in an Ocean Going Bulk carrier for the Great Lakes.
This new CONOSHIP 33000 ZE-concept of Loa = 220 m, B = 23,75 m and D = 14,50 m and 33.000 DWT, features ten 30m VentiFoils XL, that can deliver more thrust than required to sail at 11 kn, at favourable wind conditions of Bft 5 and more. The intended operation is to cross the North Atlantic at a speed of 11 kn in 100% Zero Emission mode, and to use the Large Diameter Propeller in 2 modes:
1 delivering the required thrust in the most efficient way, abt. 15% more efficient than a conventional propeller, driven by an electric motor with maximum output of 2500 kW ;
2 generating electric power from the flow of water in the wakefield of the ship while she is sailing at more than Bft 5: the propeller acts like a water-turbine driven by the passing water, turning the electric motor which will start working as a generator and providing electric power to charge the large battery-bank of 25 mWh (about 250 tons of batteries); the resulting speed of the vessel can be balanced around 11 kn;
At wind speeds below 5 Bft, the battery-bank can provide electric energy for the electric motor, and for longer periods the fuel cells will provide the electric power of the E-motor, fuel by hydrogen. The hydrogen will be stored on board in 2 liquid state at minus 253 degrees Celsius, in 2 tanks of 400 m3 that are actually in production at MAN Cryo in Sweden. The energy content of liquid hydrogen (LH2) per kg and per m3 is considerable, leading to quite feasible size of tanks that can be integrated in the design of the new Zero Emission ship concept. The rather limited amount of fuel is sufficient for the crossing of the North Atlantic, because a relevant part of required thrust for the speed of 11 kn will be provided by the VentiFoils, based on the annual statistic wind-distribution (of wind speed and – direction) on the North Atlantic ocean.
Application of 10 VentiFoils XL on this concept on this route, reduces the required size (and costs) of the Liquid Hydrogen system, enabling a technical feasible solution for Zero Emission Ocean going shipping. Economic feasibility will come closer with the progress of actual developments, on which the delegates of the IMO ISWG GHG 6 meeting will have quite some impact. With the presentation on the 11th of November in London, we aimed at gaining awareness of the above mentioned existing technologies and upcoming developments and we are looking forward to the outcome of the meeting.
Click here for the complete presentation given by Conoship International at IMO
eConowind-unit presented at Rai Amsterdam
/in Conoship, Events, Sustainability /by Nanne SluisOn the 26th of June at the electric and hybrid marine world expo in Rai Amsterdam, Guus van der Bles from Conoship International held a presentation for Econowind about the Maritime Innovation Award nominated eConowind-unit.
The eConowind-unit is an innovative foldable and autonomous unit for wind-assisted ship propulsion easy to fit on a variety of vessels. The eConowind-unit is based on a 40 ft sea container and can quickly be placed and removed. The VentiFoil is a wing shaped element using modern innovations in aerodynamics creating high propelling force relative to its size. Smart boundary layer-suction is integrated in the wing, multiplying the thrustforce of the VentiFoil. In addition in heavy weather conditions the Ventifoils can be easily stored in the container.
The eConowind-unit is fully autonomous: with favorable wind the VentiFoils unfold automatically and adjust by itself to the most optimal position to generate the most thrust power. Maintaining the same speed, fuel consumption and CO2 output will be reduced up to 10-20% depending on sailing area, speed and vessels size.
Click here for the full presentation: Presentation Electric and Hybrid Marine.
Ecodelta – the new LNG consuming dredger
/in Industry, News, Sustainability /by Nanne SluisIn 2015, the project Ecodelta was initiated by Van der Kamp, a Zwolle-based dredging company and Conoship International. Ecodelta is a trailing suction hopper dredger which consumes liquified natural gas (LNG). This one of a kind dredger has two main objectives: recover valuable material from the seabed and create a greater depth of water. The vessel has a length over all of 134.10m, the breadth moulded 21.40m, a dredging draught of 7,770m, a hopper volume of 5900m3, a dredging depth below baseline of 35m and a Gross tonnage of 7560 GT. The ship has been designed by Conoship International and has been built by the Frisian shipyard Barkmeijer. Today, January 11th, the vessel will be christened. Conoship International congratulates Van der Kamp with reaching this milestone and thanks them for the pleasant cooperation throughout the project. Conoship International is very proud of the result and wishes the Ecodelta and her crew many safe journeys.
Environmentally friendly
Van der Kamp has signed a contract with the Port of Rotterdam Authority, in order to perform maintenance of port of Rotterdam until 2023. The final goal is to become the most sustainable port by replacing the fuel oil with LNG for shipping. Another advantage of LNG is cost-efficiency. The LNG tank of approximately 300m3, can store an energy which can be used in a period of two weeks.
Ecodelta is already meeting the upcoming regulations for emission reduction that will come in force in 2020. The usage of LNG reduces the emissions of CO2 up to 20% and NOx up to 85%. In addition, SOx is reduced to zero.
Read more about this ship:
Ecodelta 5,500 m3 TSHD on LNG (portfolio page)
CONOSHIP DECREASES ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
/in Conoship, Sustainability /by Nanne SluisCONOSHIP International decreases significantly the ecological footprint of shipping
Conoship International B.V. is in continuous innovation since 1952. The passionate team of Conoship International delivers the next level in ship design by introducing equipment which support the positive human impact on Earth’s ecosystem.
Since 2017, Conoship has been developing the eConowind-unit which is used to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. The unit has two foldable VentiFoils which create a superior thrust. Two, four or six units can be fitted on a vessel. In the case of two eConowind-units on a vessel with 5000 ton cargo, it is expected that the average fuel savings and reduction of emissions will be between 10 to 20%. The first trials of testing at sea have been successful and the results are promising. Therefore, Conoship International makes a big step towards emission free shipping.
Conoship strives to add more value to the development of new as well as future equipment which will decrease the ecological footprint. In this manner, the organization advocates the philosophy of a global citizenship by initiating a forthcoming transition to the usage of more renewable energy systems. As a result, Conoship has launched and is involved in several research projects for alternative fuels. In the next years, Conoship will present designs for a fleet that will be able to fulfil any foreseeable future demands, up to zero-emission.
Methanol as marine fuel
/in Industry, News, Sustainability /by Nanne SluisThe potential of methanol as alternative marine fuel:
As member of the LeanShips project Conoship International plays a great role in the research of the possibility to use methanol as a marine fuel.
With its simple molecule, methanol has great potential to become the future marine fuel as it is safe to handle, environmentally friendly and can be produced from a large number of available raw materials from natural gas to biomass.
Conoship International already has a wide experience with assessments for conversions on existing ships but we also developed several new ship designs where the use of methanol as main fuel has a central role. These designs are made for new builds that will be powered with methanol as main fuel from the build or are easy to convert from one type of fuel to another.
Beside the technical part Conoship International has also developed a great Economic Assessment Tool. With this program several combinations of ship types, voyages and used fuel can be analyzed to compare alternative fuel options and to get an optimal prediction of the cost and returns for these scenarios.
Why methanol,
No sulfur and low NOx > near to zero emission.
Still liquid under ambient circumstances so easy and safe to transport and store.
Dilutes in water so no environmental harm in case of spills.
Already adopted within the provisional rules and regulations of Lloyd’s Register.
Widely available all around the world.
Can be used as fuel for combustion engines and also with a DMFC (Direct Methanol fuel Cell)
Is it Green?
With methanol as a fuel you are in compliance with Tier III regulations without any further aftertreatment.
Methanol has a very small ecologic footprint as it can be produced from a variety of renewable sources.
Methanol readily dissolves in water and biodegrades rapidly.
Conoship International will keep on investing in new designs and knowledge and we are ready to help you with questions about new solutions for your future ship propulsion.
Ontwikkeling prototype eConowind-unit van start
/in Conoship, Innovation, News, Sustainability /by Nanne SluisVentiFoil windhulpvoortstuwing voor schepen
Als innovatieve scheepsontwerpers zijn wij altijd op zoek naar nieuwe mogelijkheden die het schip net dat beetje extra geven om zich te kunnen onderscheiden van de rest. Om dit te realiseren onderzoeken we continu nieuwe mogelijkheden die leiden tot een beter schip. Een van deze onderzoeken is gestart in 2008 en heeft geleid tot de veelbelovende econowind-unit. Samen met het in 2016 opgerichte Econowind wordt nu het eerste prototype gerealiseerd, gesteund door Samenwerkingsverband Noord Nederland (SNN).
Een eConowind-unit bestaat uit een 40-voets container met 2 VentiFoils: vleugelvormige masten van 11 m hoog welke met innovatieve grenslaagafzuiging en ‘flaps’ voor aanvullende windvoortstuwing op schepen op zee kan zorgen. Het brandstofverbruik van de conventionele, fossiele brandstofvoortstuwing en dus de CO2-uitstoot, worden daarmee evenredig gereduceerd. De ontwikkeling van deze innovatieve VentiFoil windvoortstuwing is geïnitieerd door Conoship International BV en ondergebracht in een aparte onderneming eConowind BV, beiden gevestigd te Groningen.
Het gehele project bestaat uit ontwikkeling en testen van een 1:1 prototype van de eConowind-unit met speciale VentiFoil vleugelprofielen, de mechanische constructies (zwenken en inklappen), de besturing voor inklappen en autonoom varen. Voor een 1:2 schaalmodel (resultaat van een voorbereidend onderzoek, voorafgaand aan dit project) worden instellingen (zoals ‘zeilstanden’ in relatie tot windsnelheden) en werkingscondities (luchtafzuigparameters) theoretisch en proefondervindelijk onderzocht en vastgesteld. Met de resultaten van het 1:2 model wordt een 1:1 prototype van de eConowind-unit ontwikkeld. Het prototype wordt na sterkteberekeningen voor de vleugelmast, klapconstructie, behuizing en dekbevestiging ontworpen en gebouwd.
Gemiddelde besparingen van 20 tot 30% op brandstof en CO2-uitstoot zijn te verwachten, met het juiste aantal eConowind-units per schip. Ook de volledig autonome besturing van de VentiFoils, steeds optimaal afgestemd op de actuele windsnelheid en –richting, wordt ontwikkeld en getest op zee. Te onderzoeken en testen veiligheidsaspecten omvatten onder ander de constructie, montage aan boord en automatisch inklappen van de VentiFoils bij zware storm en te grote hellingshoeken van het schip.