What trends will shipping companies and operators of maritime applications focus on?

Here, I see two topics that are already shaping discussions today and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future: greater economic efficiency and more sustainability. All other issues we are dealing with in this sector can be derived from these. Shipping companies and ship operators are persistently looking for new ways to keep improving their efficiency and international competitiveness. Ports, by the way, also have to deal with this issue. They, too, have to develop strategies to handle ever-larger volumes of goods ever faster, greener and more sustainably – without compromising safety, of course.

In addition, legal regulations in many countries will require a significant reduction in emissions in the coming years. At present, international shipping accounts for more than two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions – a figure similar to the yearly greenhouse gas emissions of the whole of Germany. In the coming years, all industry players will have to find ways to lower these levels. In the long term, of course, the goal must be climate neutrality.

With the push for sustainability, the mobility transition is coming into focus for maritime applications. More and more ships are being equipped with electrified drivelines. For these requirements, we offer the electric Voith Schneider Propeller (eVSP), a drive concept that, with its high efficiency, enables more sustainable and efficient mobility.

Electrification, however, does not mean that the energy is generated solely from batteries. Inland ferries and ships used in coastal shipping can, of course, be relatively easily powered by batteries. If necessary, these can be charged at every stop.

However, batteries only are not a solution for applications that have to operate for long periods without a charging connection. Electrification, in this case, means that the electricity must come from other sources, such as

• generators powered by bio-fuels or
• synthetic fuels, more and more often backed by batteries. If such fuels are produced from green electricity, they have a neutral CO2 balance.
• Furthermore, green hydrogen could be a possible energy carrier as well.

In any case, however, the topic of electricity will play an increasingly important role in shipping. In modern vessel architectures, more or less every energy consumer is powered by electricity, for example, the propellers, cranes, lighting and galley. Intelligent power management is an absolute necessity for safe power supply, high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Intelligent power management is an absolute necessity for safe power supply, high efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Here, too, the focus is on sustainability, or to be more precise, on the energy transition. Offshore wind farms are being built off almost all the world's coasts.

In order to build and subsequently maintain them, the construction of specialized construction and service operation vessels has increased and is expected to increase even further in the coming years. But also ferries, tugs and special purpose vessels, especially those operating close to the coast or near inhabited areas, will have more and more need for fully electric and environmentally friendly concepts. With its high efficiency over the whole operation range and its exceptional maneuvering, dynamic positioning and roll stabilization capabilities, the eVSP is the ideal concept for this ship type.