DNV GL Promises New Way to Isolate Ships' Energy Waste

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday April 10, 2014

DNV GL says it is introducing a new methodology for shipowners to find the biggest areas of wasted energy on their ships.

"Ship operations and environmental legislation have become more complex, and it has become increasingly difficult to assess or even define efficiency with consistency and accuracy," said Rune Torhaug, director of Strategic Research & Innovation for the firm.

"We have therefore revisited the basic and universal laws of thermodynamics to develop a methodology based on exergy, sometimes called available energy, which is a metric for describing the maximum useful energy that can be derived from a process, component or system."

The method, which can be used in the design phase of newbuilds or for operating ships, is intended to improve the efficient use of Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP).

The system combines onboard measurements with the modelling program DNV COSSMOS to determine how much energy is being lost through the ships' hull, propulsion power train, machinery, and electric system.

A position paper published by the firm addressed a waste heat recovery system, a fuel pre-processing subsystem for a marine fuel cell, and the main engine of an aframax tanker, resulting in more accurate analyses than traditional measurements could provide and solutions capable of reducing exergy losses by as much as 50 percent.

DNV GL has said it is increasing its focus on research and development work, with a particular focus on sustainability solutions.