The zero-emission cruise ship project is born
Hurtigruten Norway, a company with 130 years of history in the transport of goods and passengers by sea, has presented its first zero-emission cruise ship concept. Called "Sea Zero," plans for the cruise ship were revealed in March of last year, and now we have a first taste of what the company plans to build.
Shipping is one of the challenges that electrification has yet to solve. Battery ships have limited range and cargo capacity and are not suited to long range.
Cruise ships are a different product, carrying many passengers and going to great lengths to accommodate their comforts. A zero-emissions cruise ship is therefore a major challenge, and Hurtigruten (Norwegian for “the fast course”) is pushing the envelope when it plans to build it later this decade.
The zero emission cruise ship
To start, the builder will use multiple 60-megawatt batteries that will be charged at port before setting sail for the voyage. The cruise ship is equipped with three self-contained, retractable sail-wing rigs to avoid the hassle of having to find ports to reload them.
Each plant will reach a height of 50 meters when fully extended and will be used to cover an area of 750 square meters to harness wind energy. The platforms will also provide 16,146 square feet (1,500 square meters) of floor space for solar panels, which will be used to recharge the batteries while underway.
The shipbuilder is also relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to increase the efficiency of maneuvering, a move that will see the size of the bridge significantly reduced and resemble the aircraft's cockpit, the press release said.
Prior to deploying this technology, the company will use its large operational scale, which sees its ships dock in 34 Norwegian ports every day, to gather information on efficient docking and disembarkation methods at each port, even under challenging weather conditions.
The streamlined shape of the vessel will reduce air resistance, thus decreasing energy requirements. The enlarged surfaces will also offer an incomparable view to the 500 passengers who will be accommodated in 270 cabins during the cruise.
Passengers will also participate in the initiative to minimize energy consumption on this ship, activated through a mobile application. Passengers can operate cabin ventilation and monitor water and energy consumption.
The cruise ship has entered the stage where proposed technologies will be trialled, tested and improved until they are incorporated into the ship's construction, which is expected to be completed by 2030.
Ships greener now
While the zero-emission vessel is a future dream, Hurtigruten Norway is also working to reduce emissions from its current fleet of vessels. Two of its seven vessels have been upgraded to be powered by battery-hybrid power plant, with another to be upgraded this year.
The company is also retrofitting its other vessels with technologies that reduce polluting gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides by up to 80%.
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The article The zero-emission cruise ship project is born comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/nasce-il-progetto-di-nave-da-crociera-a-emissioni-zero/ on Thu, 08 Jun 2023 12:45:43 +0000.