Bremen starts Eco-Box: ferry trips are becoming more environmentally friendly!
Bremen starts Eco-Box: ferry trips are becoming more environmentally friendly!
Nowadays, sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the maritime world. A particularly exciting project in Bremen takes this idea into practice. The model project eco-crossing has set itself the goal of making ferries more environmentally friendly and more economical. Several partners, including the Jade University and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), work together with the ferry company FBS Bremen.
The central component of the project is the eco-box , an innovative assistance system that provides the ship leaders real-time route proposals. This system combines a navigation system, an environmental sensor system and a AI-based model to reduce the fuel consumption of the ferries. The potential of this system already shows in the test operation on the Weser ferry "Farge", because model calculations indicate that the annual diesel consumption of 300,000 liters could be reduced by up to 20%.
ecological advantages and economic savings
With this reduction, not only 30,000 euros in operating costs, but also impressive 159 tons of CO2 could be saved per year. The model shows that with optimal route choice between Farge and Berne, fuel savings of more than 20% can be achieved. Especially in flow and tide-sensitive waters, such as those occurring in northern Germany, there is a lot of potential for saving fuel and emissions.
The Studies of the DFKI confirm this potential and emphasize that in shipping, especially for ferry connections, the possibilities for emission reduction through optimized driving style have so far not been exploited. In contrast to international merchant shipping, where weather routing is already being used, ferry ride is missing a corresponding system. The ECO box system could serve as a future-oriented approach.
The future of shipping
Another important element in this context is the rapidly growing challenge of global shipping. Every year, the industry emits around one billion tons of CO2, which corresponds to about 2.5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, as KSB . Shipping thus has a significant impact on the environment, but at the same time it also offers great potential to become more environmentally friendly.
The ECO crossing project not only positions itself locally here, but also sees its results as multiplicable for well over 300 ferry companies in Europe. The Eco-Box does not require elaborate conversions to existing ferry fleet, which should appeal to particularly small operators. The technology enables faster amortization when switching to more climate -friendly drives and could therefore be viewed as an important step towards a greener shipping.
This continues the development and shows that the dream of "Green Shipping" not only remains a utopia, but could also become a reality through innovative approaches such as the Eco-Box. The future of shipping looks promising, and Bremen takes on a pioneering role.
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| Ort | Bremen, Deutschland |
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