Wartsila discusses Strategies and Innovations for Decarbonisation in India

As part of collaborative efforts to advance Maritime Decarbonisation in India, Wartsila hosted a seminar titled – Shaping the Future of Indian Shipping: Wartsila Seminar on Strategies and Innovations for Decarbonisation on 30^th June at St Regis Hotel in Mumbai.

The seminar was attended by around 110 invited guests from the Indian National Ship Owners Association, Institute of Marine Engineers India, ship management, shipyards, classification societies, and ship designers.

In his welcome address, Mr Petteri Saares, Director Sales (Middle East & Asia) mentioned how new environmental regulations, mechanisms and policies are having direct impact on maritime business and one of the fast movers here is actually the Indian Government, with the recent announcement of the Maritime India Vision 2030. He shared five technological concepts Wartsila has developed the largest portfolio in the market of technical solutions that help decarbonise shipping namely, Ship efficiency, Electrification of shipping, Sustainable fuels, Carbon capture technologies, and Digitalisation.

Mr Arun Gupta, Chairman, Institute of Marine Engineers, India, (IMEI) Mumbai branch, in his key note address highlighted the IMO targets and emphasize about the plan to action for reducing GHG and overall emissions from shipping.

He mentioned that MEPC 80 outcome could be important with a focus on both the setting of ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) targets under the revision to the IMO GHG Strategy and further discussion of the basket of mid- to long-term measures needed to deliver this enhanced level of ambition.

The technologies are still developing. The transition will have a lot of implications – both for hardware as well as software. The need of the hour is to work on strategies and innovations.

Prominent industry leaders such as Mr Anil Devli, CEO, Indian National Shipowners Association; Mr Praveen K Mishra, Chief Surveyor & Head of Operations, Indian Register of Shipping; Capt Umesh Abhyankar, Joint President, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd; Mr Shekhar Kowshik, Sr Vice President-Technical, Greatship India Ltd; Mr Deepu Surendran, General Manager – (C-SAS), Cochin Shipyard Ltd; and Mr Akshay Jain, Founder & CEO, Vedam Designs shared their views on Decarbonisation: Opportunity & Challenges for Indian Shipping, which lead to:

• solution oriented & collaborative approach
• need to converge on a set of actions and a roadmap that can help overcome the challenges that many see in the sector

On CII Compliance: Informed decision-making basis Real Data and Digital Modelling Mr Peter Hansten, General Manager – Decarbonisation Services and Marco Alberto Grimaldi, Manager- Decarbonisation Modelling, summarised their presentation as:

• Ship owners face a complex scenario when deciding the actions needed to ensure CII compliance and other decarbonisation regulations
• Wärtsilä can help with de-risking the decarbonisation investments, where the solutions are differing between each vessel type
• A fact based decision process based on, as well real operational as design data, and OEM knowledge for advanced digital modelling is utilized
• The digital modelling comprises collection of right data, pre-processing, analysis and simulation of selected technologies.
• Outcome is a quantified CII reduction path and financial calculations
• The advanced decarbonisation modelling is already materializing in India by Wärtsilä partnering with TW Shipping.

Mr Sanjeev Nair – CEO & Mr Sandeep Kumar -GM, TW Ship Management spoke on the real case, where they mentioned, “We are determined to explore all options for decarbonising our fleet operations. Wartsila modelling capabilities allowed us to determine the best way forward for achieving our sustainability ambitions in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible. The ‘TBC Prestige’ was chosen for this project as we have ten similar bulk carriers in our fleet.”

On Hybrid Approach to Decarbonisation Mr Leonardo Ferrero, Team Leader – System Development & Design condensed the following: Decarbonisation regulations do not define how the required targets will be achieved, leaving an uncertain pathway ahead. Under this uncertainty, a mix of solutions will likely be taken, leading to a kind of “hybrid” approach to decarbonisation.

He pointed out three general streams that can be identified in the decarbonisation of shipping, viz:

• Reduce the amount of energy needed
• Transform energy more efficiently
• Use alternative sources of power

He continued that for each stream, solutions are available in Wärtsilä portfolio. If looking at improving the efficiency of energy transformations on a vessel, hybridisation and electrification are clearly established trends. Hybrid solutions are available for both mechanical drive and electric propulsion concepts, as newbuild solutions and retrofits as well. Unlike conventional machinery concepts, the design of hybrid system is focused on providing vessel-level functionalities rather than fulfilling a list of specifications for the equipment. Therefore, cooperation with ship owners and ship designers is crucial. Wärtsilä, with about 100 hybrid vessels contracted or delivered adding up to 200MWh worth of battery capacity, is the reference for hybrid solutions, no matter what the vessel type is.

On Sustainable Fuels Technology Development & Roadmap Mr Kaj Portin, General Manager Sustainable Fuels & Decarbonisation succinct:

• Decarbonising of the marine sector is urgent and requires a wide range of measures
• A successful development requires expertise and actions from many contributors
• Wärtsilä’s portfolio provides several solutions towards a net-zero future
• Fuel flexibility secures a future proofed solution
• Concepts for ICE operation on the future fuels like Ammonia, Hydrogen, and Methanol are already being developed and demonstrated

Mr Sachin Kulkarni, Head of Marine Power Sales (South Asia) in his vote of thanks address mentioned about Indian maritime industry facing three C’s – Complexity, Compliance and Cost as it began its decarbonisation journey. Successfully navigating these will take more than technology. It’s a complex process, one that takes more than the enabling technology. This is where true Collaboration is needed, which is fourth C.

Marex Media