TwinShip initiative seeks to increase access to trustworthy data to support decarbonization

A collaboration comprising the technology group Wärtsilä will create a new system for the marine sector with the goal of enhancing access to trustworthy data to provide more informed shipping choices pertaining to fleet operations that are decarbonized. The European Union (EU) is sponsoring the “TwinShip” project, which is scheduled to operate from 2025 to 2028.

The maritime sector is fully aware of the necessity of decarbonization. However, the absence of precise cost, performance, and emission estimates for new and/or modified ship designs frequently causes investment decisions to be postponed. This is particularly pertinent to energy-saving technologies and new sustainable fuels.

More than a dozen technology and service providers, ship design and transportation firms, ports, classification societies, software developers, and academic and research organizations will all be involved in the TwinShip initiative. With the use of these partners’ experience, the project will create a Decision Support System (DSS) that can be used to plan various equipment, propulsion, and energy-saving device configurations for both new construction and retrofits.

Based on the greatest available domain knowledge, the project aims to deliver trustworthy cost, performance, and emission statistics. This will then be further enhanced by sophisticated AI-based algorithms that are capable of analyzing enormous volumes of actual test data. Four pilot vessel demonstrations will be used to validate the project’s outcomes.

In order to help the industry reach its goal of lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the project will establish challenging standards. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, which aims to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by or around 2050, will be consistent with these criteria. Access to trustworthy data and predictive insights will be crucial for optimizing fleet efficiency, which will result in better performance, lower expenses, and fewer emissions.