Future-proofing ship design: Elomatic’s approach

Elomatic’s future-proofing begins with a high-level screening process to identify measures that could enhance a vessel’s compliance and operational efficiency. “We are starting our future proof screening program. It’s composed of three steps. We do a high-level screening first. We are looking at a number of maybe 150 different measures which could be used in principle,” explains Schulte.

This step narrows the options to a subset relevant to a specific ship type and operational profile. The second phase, mid-level validation, focuses on assessing the feasibility and benefits of the shortlisted measures. Key factors include regulatory requirements like Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) compliance and return on investment.

The final phase involves translating these validated measures into a concept design, tailored to the shipowner’s goals. “Then you really implement it into a concrete concept design. That’s really important to understand the impact on ship dimensions, for example, space requirements, and even more important, the revenue potential,” Schulte emphasises.

Flexibility in fuel choices

Adapting to evolving fuel technologies is a cornerstone of future-proof ship design. The uncertainty surrounding future fuels such as ammonia requires built-in flexibility. Schulte highlights how dual-fuel engines play a pivotal role in mitigating risk, allowing ships to operate with current fuels while preparing for future options. “You have dual fuel engines to take precautions. It’s a matter of agreeing on the content of precautions you take into the design today and what kind of things you’re doing later,” he explains.

Methanol and diesel dual-fuel engines are prime examples of this strategy, offering mature and adaptable solutions that reduce the need for extensive retrofits. “There are some mechanisms or principles which are kind of evolving. In the future this means being prepared for ammonia use for instance,” Schulte adds.

Meeting regulatory challenges

Regulatory compliance significantly influences Elomatic’s ship designs, particularly as FuelEU Maritime looms large. “Fuel EU Maritime I think is the most complex regulation ever. That is of course putting big challenges on all the ship owners,” notes Schulte.

To address this, Elomatic uses predictive planning and scenario modelling. This approach helps account for uncertainties, such as fluctuating fuel prices and varying rates of technology adoption. Schulte explains, “We are determining the key influence factors and then we are determining also principal outcomes. We have a kind of curve from a low case to high case and medium case.”

Innovations now

Among Elomatic current innovations is the Elogrid, a tunnel thruster grid that reduces drag and enhances side thrust efficiency. Schulte describes it as a versatile solution that offers benefits under any regulatory framework. “The good thing with Elogrid is of course that it is robust in any regulations. Whether it’s CII, its potential or its benefit is of course widespread under all regulations. It will bring the shipowner benefits, because they will save fuel and that is always paying off.”

Before installation, Elomatic uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to evaluate the Elogrid’s effectiveness for a specific vessel. “We calculate it for every shipowner, so for the particular trade the vessel is in and we do a first principle, so CFD analysis is the first step. He doesn’t have to order the Elogrid in the first place. We do a proper analysis whether it works for his vessel and how much it will work and what is then the return on investment for him. And that is normally, for the Elogrid, is normally one to one and a half years, in that range. So that is a no-brainer.”

The Elogrid’s design also reduces reliance on tugboats, enhances manoeuvrability, and lowers noise and vibrations during bow or stern thruster operations. “That gives a benefit without having to increase the size of the tunnel thruster, they will gain an additional 10% roughly in side thrust. It also halves the vibrations and noises coming in during that thrust operation,” Schulte explains.

Elomatic regularly optimises hull and appendage designs to maximise fuel efficiency. For example, the company has worked with large cruise operators to refine stern shapes and incorporate interceptors tailored to specific operational and speed profiles. “We have done this for large cruise operators. We’ve done optimisations of the stern shape, creating interceptors and determining the best possibility for fuel efficiency optimisation for that particular vessel with a particular operation profile, speed profile, shallow water effects, and so on. That is what we do on a regular basis,” shares Schulte.

While planning for the long term is essential, Elomatic emphasise s the importance of addressing immediate, actionable improvements. Schulte notes, “We are now in this low-hanging fruit phase where everybody is harvesting the things we can do today which can easily demonstrate the benefit.”

By combining innovative technologies like the Elogrid with cost-effective strategies and predictive planning, Elomatic’s approach ensures shipowners can navigate current challenges while preparing for future demands.

As Schulte aptly concludes, “That is always paying off.”