At last week’s Propulsion and Future Fuels event in Hamburg, I hosted a panel of nominees for The Motorship award. This is given to a company, usually in partnership with others, who have released or devised a concept that is innovative in achieving sustainability.
We had a lot of companies enter this year’s competition for which I thank each of you, although with the assistance of our expert editorial advisory panel, we whittled the number down to a final four nominees. These were Lloyd’s Register, TecnoVeritas, Thordon Bearings and OceanScore.
This year the panel contained a diverse set of designs or products, each aimed to further shipping’s goal of reaching net zero and ranged from fuel solutions, to a software package aiding shipowners’ ability to comply with regulations such as EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime.
First up was Paul Herbert (pictured), principal technology specialist at Lloyd’s Register, who took the audience through his company’s involvement with the Torghatten Nord hydrogen ferry project. Herbert has been involved with some of our Special Reports on future fuels, for instance discussing the safety implications using methanol here Herbert acknowledged that the majority of the audience would be familiar with this project given the class society had awarded it an Authorisation in Principle (AiP) but gave detailed insights into how the project was coming along.
Next up was Jorge Manuel Gomes Antunes, CEO of TecnoVeritas, who discussed his company’s onboard fuel processing system that can utilise bio-HFO, which like other biofuels can be blended with conventional fuels. His slides demonstrated how the system worked and had the potential to enable savings as well as aid compliance with regulations.
Martin Linder, merchant fleet development manager Northern Europe at Thordon Bearings took to the stage next to discuss his company’s innovative T-BOSS system. Fans of The Motorship should need no explanation of this system, it’s been discussed here in an interview with Craig Carter, vice-president of business development at Thordon Bearings. As a recap this truly innovative system replaces the conventional sterntube cooling tank with a dry chamber that is big enough for surveyors or engineers to stand up in; to inspect the non-metallic bearing and seal from inside the ship whilst afloat.
Our final nominee again should be no stranger to The Motorship faithful, with Ralf Garrn, managing director representing OceanScore . This company, just a few years old, has attracted huge amounts of private investment as it seeks to aid shipowners with complying with EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime. The company recently signed an agreement with Japan’s Meiji Shipping Group as it seeks to broaden its offering to Asia.
The winner
This year’s award went to Thordon Bearings, for its T-BOSS system. Speaking to those overseeing the voting process, which consisted of our attendees voting for their preferred company, Thordon Bearings won by a landslide. Speaking to Martin Linder afterwards he expressed his surprise and gratitude for winning the award and we also touched on the issues with getting T-BOSS to market.
He said: “I knew that Thordon has a revolutionary concept that would interest a broad public but I did not expect to win. Not at all! I am honored and very glad we did!”
It seems that given the radical nature of the design, which can only be applied to newbuilds and not retrofitted, the inherent conservatism of shipyards and builders may be an issue. There is a definite appetite for T-BOSS, it has the backing of ABS and Wärtsilä who have been involved with the project since its inception in 2018. It also clearly impressed our esteemed attendees at this year’s Propulsion and Future Fuels event.
