INDUSTRY MARINE BUSINESS
www.signwell.fi
“
The
development
of battery technology
is key in the coming
years.
Niklas Rönnberg from Lloyds Register says that in the coming years,
we are likely to see more hybrid solutions where electricity is utilised
in some way – especially with regards to smaller vessels.
FEEL THE WIND quate substitute for combustible energy and follow the development in the indus-
Wind-assisted propulsion could potentially sources. try very closely,” Rönnberg says.
reduce fuel consumption, especially when Niklas Rönnberg believes that we will Olli Kaljala points out that zero-emis-
used for slow ships, but the business case see totally emissions-free ships within the sions shipping is the general direction of
remains difficult. Batteries as a means of next decade, but they will be few indeed. the industry, even if it will take time. “Var-
storing energy can be considered as an
are ious commercial applications are following
alternative fuel source in the widest sense. not likely to become mainstream very the pilots and technological challenges are
Especially on ships operating on short, reg- soon.” gradually overcome,” he says, adding that
“Ships
without
emissions
ular voyages, they have major potential as
the fuel evolution is also subject to polit-
a means to boost the efficiency of the pro- MANAGE THE RISK
pulsion system. For a classification society, new fuels and
“The development of battery tech- technologies bring a range of challenges.
nology is key in the coming years,” How do you assess the risks and where do
observes Olli Kaljala. Presently, in deep-sea you set the bar?
shipping, batteries alone are not an ade-
“One has to maintain an open mind
ical winds.
For classifiers, fuels are only one piece
of the puzzle, albeit an important one.
“Environmental concerns in general
comprise a major part of our work,” adds
Kaljala. n
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