#SmallerFootprint

The greatest footprint we can leave behind is a smaller one

To reach the International Maritime Organization’s goal of halving the green-house gas emissions from ships by 2050, owners, operators, yards, and technology providers need to pull together to make a comprehensive and proactive response. The focus on avoiding emissions along with the will to invest is in place.

Are you looking to leave a smaller footprint behind?

As an example, the EU has committed 530 MEURs for its Waterborne Transport Partnership from 2021-2027. In addition, the European Marine Industry has agreed to investments worth 3,3 BEUR. All with the goal of developing and implementing decarbonizing solutions for ocean and river transport in the EU.

ABB’s role as a technology provider is to partner with owners, operators, and yards to help select the right technologies for their vessels and operations, and help build ships that both lower emissions now, but also keep the options open for further emission avoidance in the future. Together, we can make sure that we leave a smaller footprint behind.

For ocean going vessels the range of applicable technologies is not clear-cut yet, but alternative fuels and emission avoidance actions are developing fast. For coastal and river-going vessels operating on shorter routes, there are mature decarbonizing technologies in place, such as DC grid power, energy storage and shore connections.

Local transport leading the way

A prime target for electrification is ferries. They are important to logistics, economies, societies, and tourism, but are quite polluting when running on fossil fuels. Some fossil fueled fast ferries can emit as much CO2 as airplanes. As ferries often operate close to shore and on short routes, they are ideal for hybrid and fully electric power.

Here we present some of ABB Marine & Ports’ projects that are making a tangible positive impact on the local communities where they operate, contributing to lowering the emission levels from the marine industry overall:

Maid of the Mist – Enhancing the experience

San Cristoforo - Modernizing toward decarbonization

Corsica Linea - Reducing pollution, vibration and noise

Herjólfur IV - electric power on rough seas

Thanks to the first two battery powered zero-emission vessels ever built in the United States, passengers can enjoy the natural wonder completely undisturbed of engine noise, diesel fumes and vibrations on vessel. The power for the operation of the Maid of the Mist ferries is benefitting of the hydropower from the waterfalls, with calculated savings of 258 tons of CO2 per year compared to the previous tour boats.

The new Maid of the Mist vessels deliver a silent, smooth and exhaust-free experience for all passengers. They charge fast too – recharging is done in just seven minutes during embarking and disembarking.

In a press release from the New York state Parks, Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, “New York State Parks is committed to executing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's vision for protecting our environment and in making New York State the cleanest state in the nation. We also know that visitors feel good when they can do their part to protect our land and water while enjoying themselves. We thank the Maid of the Mist for their leadership in sustainable tourism."

Since 2020 about 1.2 million visitors per year have experienced the spectacular Niagara Falls up close on the Maid of the Mist ferries.

For nearly six decades, the 1965-built ferry San Cristoforo has transported passengers up and down the beautiful and picturesque Lake Maggiore in Italy.

The vintage look of the ferry was highly visible and much loved, but its old diesel engines produced both noise and exhaust. A change was needed. Modernizing the power system to hybrid-electric allowed the ferry to retain its vintage appearance and design, and at the same time become more environmentally friendly. An important improvement for the local community and visiting tourists alike – and a great task for ABB.

Where possible, vessel modernization offers another level of emission savings, as you reuse the existing hull and only change the parts that need upgrading. “Instead of using the energy and creating the emissions it takes to replace an entire vessel, we reduced the overall ecological footprint by replacing just the drive train", says Paolo Mazzucchelli, Technical Manager at Gestione Navigazione Laghi, the owner and operator of San Cristoforo.

The transformation to hybrid-electric propulsion has led to reduction in fuel consumption and offers passengers a whole new experience: a quieter, smoother ride along the lake.

– For us the San Cristoforo conversion is a milestone project as it underpins our capability to modernize ships of any age, size, and type so that they can take advantage of the efficiency benefits of hybrid operation, says Alessandro De Santis, Service Area Manager, South Europe, ABB Marine & Ports.

– Tinkering with tradition is not taken lightly in this part of the world, but the transformation of San Cristoforo from diesel to hybrid-electric propulsion has been warmly welcomed among residents and tourists alike, says Paolo Mazzucchelli.

His conclusion is clear:

– Overall, it wasn’t just a good investment of our money, but an investment in the future.

“Almost like a huge mobile phone, the ship connects to shoreside shore connection.”

Port of Marseille is situated in the city of Marseille so that it’s surrounded by residential and commercial areas. It’s important to the residents to avoid local emissions from ferries calling in the port for hours at a time. If the ships, that call in the port, are equipped with shore connection system, they can connect to the shore power, and thereby avoiding emissions whilst at port.

Avoiding emissions

The three Corsica Linea ferries, carrying vehicles and passengers between Marseille and Corsica for 48 weeks of the year, are equipped with ABB’s shore connection. Instead of running diesel-fueled auxiliary engines, Paglia Orba, Jean Nicoli and Pascal Paoli ferries will use electricity for power at berth. Each of the three vessels feature ABB’s shore connection solution which allows electricity available from the local grid in Marseille to be stepped down to 11KV in order to take care of ship power needs while in port.

A dream for locals and for an industry facing increasingly tough regulations on decarbonization. IMO has said it wants ships’ emissions cut by 40% by 2030. Experts are convinced that it is innovative technology like this that will help set a course to get there.

8 km into the open Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Iceland, is Vestmannaeyjar, a group of rugged islands. The community of around 4,200 persons is served by a ferry called “Herjólfur” after the man believed to be the first settler on the islands. Like him, the ferry is tough, making 1,800 annual roundtrips in demanding Atlantic weather conditions with shallow water harbors. When the time came to replace the old diesel ferry, it was clear the new ship had to be robust and powerful. Paired with growing environmental expectations from locals, tourists and the Icelandic government alike, the new ferry also needed a smaller environmental footprint.

Iceland adheres to the Paris agreement and aims to become a carbon neutral society before 2040, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. As Iceland is volcanic, it’s unique in the way that almost all heating and electricity generation is provided by renewable hydro and geothermal energy. Charging ahead, Iceland has already started nearly half of their Climate Action Plan steps to achieve their targets, with energy transition in transportation and electrification of ports as an important part of them.

Selected to develop the new vessel, ship designer ApS Maritime Engineering’s solution for the new hybrid vessel was a hardy and nimble new ferry built on ABB Marine & Ports’ hybrid-electric power train, tailored to serve the present and future needs of Vestmannaeyjar. Running every day since its launch in 2019, the vessel is a success.

According to the operator, the old diesel ferry used 50,000 liters of diesel each week. If run only on diesel, the new hybrid-electric ferry would use 35,000 liters per week, but as it runs only on electricity most of the time, it normally only uses between 0 and 2,500 liters per week. In rough conditions the ferry has to run a 3-hour detour route to a deeper harbor. As batteries on electric ferries cover up to 1 hour of operation, the remaining 2 hours have to be run on diesel.

Compared to the old diesel ferry the CO₂ savings are calculated to be over 6,000 tons per year – a reduction equal to the emissions from ~4,000 fossil fueled cars per year.

– I have sailed on it in nine-meter waves. That is quite extreme, but even then, it felt very safe and stable. Even though some were skeptical in the beginning, no one would go back to the old diesel ferry. Islanders are proud of the new vessel, says Johannes Johannesson, Chief Designer, ApS Maritime Engineering.

Find out more about our projects

Corsica Linea avoiding emissions whilst at Port of Marseille

Watch the video of how Corsica Linea is avoiding emissions with shore connection when calling at the Port of Marseille.

Watch the video

Maid of the Mist opts for electric future

Breathing new life into an old favorite

Setting the pace for decarbonization

A new era of ferry transport

Listen to PA Podcast

Shipping – propelling into a sustainable future

The Process Automation Podcast season 1, episode 4

Marine industry – the backbone of world economy

Shipping is key work for the world economy and our everyday lives – over 80% of world traded goods is carried by sea, while ferries transport over 4 billion passengers a year.

Join host and engineering fan Fran Scott as she learns about the technologies that are propelling ships toward a sustainable future in conversation with ex-mariner and shipping journalist Craig Eason, ABB’s passenger vessel expert Marcus Högblom, and ferry designer Johannes Johannesson.

Subscribe to The Process Automation Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode.

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