NAPA, a maritime software, services and data analysis provider has announced that it will participate in the Clean Propulsion Technologies (CPT) project, a consortium led by the University of Vaasa in Finland that aims to develop radically new low-carbon solutions across global transportation sectors. NAPA states it will apply its technical expertise to further enable methods to model and optimize total energy consumption on the two-year project.
NAPA says it will use its data-driven voyage optimization solutions, NAPA Fleet Intelligence and NAPA Performance models, to develop methods to model and optimize total energy consumption on the project. The company will specifically draw on its Optimization of Total Energy Consumption Onboard (OTECO) initiative, which takes a holistic approach to energy optimization, to incorporate the novel propulsion energy arrangements developed in the CPT project.
The company says it will also develop virtual models in collaboration with the consortium partners to improve the modeling of non-conventional propulsion unit arrangements and the inclusion of important onboard energy consumers. These will include vessel components such as hotel load for cruise vessels and cargo warming and cooling for LNG carriers and other merchant vessels. By enabling the global usage of proper tools for virtual modeling and making them available for all stakeholders, NAPA estimates that shipping efficiency can be improved by 10-20%.
Teemu Manderbacka, lead R&D engineer at NAPA Shipping Solutions, said, “At NAPA, we have a wealth of unique insights into the overall impact of novel clean technologies on shipping’s emission and trade flow in a defined area or route per different ship type. This expertise and knowledge, coupled with NAPA Fleet Intelligence voyage data and NAPA Performance models, will enable us to support the aims of the CPT project and further decarbonize the shipping industry. The cooperation with the consortium helps us by bringing together companies and universities with mutually complementary technology expertise in cleaner shipping. NAPA contributes to the consortium by providing insights on overall ship technical and operational performance globally.”