Predictions for 2025: Hear from titans of industry

Question:  What are the most promising advancements in propulsion technologies that you foresee gaining traction in 2025, and how might they impact fuel efficiency and emissions reduction?

Roger Holm, president of Wärtsilä Marine and excutive vice president of Wärtsilä Coroporation: ”The most significant developments for 2025 will be in multi-fuel capable engines. Ammonia engines – which are dual-fuel as well – are moving from development to commercial deployment, while dual-fuel engines operating on LNG have achieved substantial reductions in methane emissions, down to as low as 1.1% of fuel use.

These propulsion advances, when combined with optimised systems and hybrid solutions, are delivering meaningful reductions in both fuel consumption and emissions. This is particularly relevant as fuel costs are projected to rise significantly by 2030.

Given the uncertainty around which alternative fuels will become widespread, fuel flexibility in propulsion systems is crucial. This explains why the industry is seeing increased ordering of vessels with multi-fuel capabilities.”

Jonathan Strachan, chief technical officer at consultancy Houlder: ”Whilst the range of dual fuel engines capable of operating on Methanol / Ammonia / Hydrogen in addition to MGO, has expanded over the last couple of years, the combination of FuelEU, a wider range of manufacturers and engine size, and earlier adopters proving the in service operation, could see this technology gaining traction in 2025.”

Gareth Burton, senior vice president global engineering at ABS: ”Nuclear power is a promising solution. In the short term we anticipate this will be used to produce electrical power, rather than for propulsion.

For the long term, a study designed to help industry better understand the feasibility and safety implications of nuclear propulsion and to support future development projects was carried out by ABS and Herbert Engineering Corporation (HEC). The results showed the transformational impact of a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) on the design, operation and emissions of a 145,000m³ LNG carrier.

We also see continued interest in wind assisted propulsion and ABS has approved various technology for use on different vessel types. Most recently we granted Approval in Principle to OceanWings for its WAPs concept.

We have seen significant developments in battery technology, charging technology and shore-side infrastructure and foresee increased electrification, in particular for near shore and short haul applications.

Aside from the propulsion technologies, we anticipate further improvements in control systems including autonomous control systems. This includes battery management systems for vessel with batteries onboard and autonomous control systems.”

Stay tuned for more predictions on 2025