Charting a new course: Circular and zero-emission shipbuilding

EcoShipYard is a research and innovation project that promotes sustainable shipbuilding practices and material circularity in the European Union

The problem

The European shipbuilding industry is striving to respond to challenges related to competitiveness, innovation and sustainability (MAPFREE, 2022)1, whist considering GHG emissions from floor processes during the ship’s lifecycle non-operational activities (shipbuilding, repair, maintenance, refit). These processes generate pollution and waste at high energy consumption and other costs. Dismantling practices at ships’ end-of-life are waste and scrap.

Scrap volume is estimated at 1.3-2.1 million LDT/year EU-wide.

The solution

To improve shipyard environmental performance and ship materials circularity, implementation of progressive technologies for shipyard processes, better management and reduction of energy use and waste and enhanced materials’ traceability are necessary to enhance sustainability according to the EU Green Deal and EU Circular economy action plan.

Shipyard operations & processes

Since shipyards work on multiple contracts simultaneously, it is important to distinguish energy used for each project. In addition, as certain non-operational activities are predictable (e.g., maintenance) and other are not (e.g., repair, maintenance) a generic procedural scheme can be developed to estimate environmental impacts of shipyard activities via digital modelling calibrated via monitoring.