Arkitech expands cruise efficiency rollout

The rollout began in 2024 with a pilot installation aboard MSC Magnifica and has since expanded across vessels in the Musica, Fantasia and Seaside classes.

According to the company, the technology is delivering average annual HVAC energy savings of 1,600 MWh per vessel, equivalent to around 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided per ship each year.

“Arkitech has enabled us to reduce chiller energy consumption by an average of up to 12.8% on vessels where it was deployed last year, without affecting passenger comfort or operational reliability,” said Stefano Aiello, vice president energy efficiency at MSC Cruise Management.

“For us, the value is twofold – immediate fuel savings and a tool that helps us optimise chiller operations fleet-wide.”

The announcement comes as cruise operators face increasing pressure to improve efficiency amid volatile fuel prices and tightening environmental regulations. HVAC systems are typically the second-largest onboard energy consumer, yet many vessels still rely on manual control processes and limited performance visibility.

Arkitech said its platform uses artificial intelligence models that continuously learn the thermal behaviour of individual vessels, adjusting operations based on real-time performance data, weather forecasts and passenger occupancy levels.

“With twelve ships now in operation and more on the way, we have shown that HVAC optimisation can function as a standardised tool for fleet-wide efficiency,” said Sander Huijer, chief executive of Arkitech.

“Although we are still in the early stages of validation, we already see potential to reach 2 to 3 per cent total fuel savings per vessel.”

The deployment processes around 2,000 sensor readings per minute per vessel and is preventing an estimated 12,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, while informing future applications such as predictive maintenance and cross-vessel learning.