l to r: Thomas Mørk (Vice President | Head of Technical Organization at DFDS), and on the right is Shaun Gray (executive chairman, GreenSteam).
GreenSteam partners with DFDS to co-develop cost-reducing enhanced performance platform
– GreenSteam’s Dynamic suite of optimisation tools uses machine learning to improve performance resulting in reduced emissions and fuel savings of up to 20%
– This follows DFDS’ recent commitment to reduce emissions by 25-35% by 2030
Copenhagen, 13 October 2020 – GreenSteam, developers of vessel performance solutions for a sustainable shipping industry, has partnered with DFDS, leading global ferry operator, to co-develop and supply an enhanced performance platform, which will empower crews to optimise operations in real-time to reduce emissions.
GreenSteam and DFDS partnership
This partnership will contribute to DFDS’s ‘short-term tonnage adaption plan’ to use decision support systems and technology to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25-35% over the next decade.
DFDS and GreenSteam have been collaborating for over five years and already have performance optimisation systems installed on 18 vessels. The first service which will be rolled out on the new enhanced performance platform across DFDS’ full fleet is Dynamic Trim Optimizer (DTO). DTO captures high frequency performance data from on-board sensors and integrates this with the vessel’s digital model to calculate optimal trim settings that will maximise efficiency. It has been shown to reduce annual fuel consumption by up to 6%.
GreenSteam will develop and roll out further dynamic solutions to optimize other causes of fuel wastage, including hull fouling and speed.
Reduced fuel wastage to save costs and minimise environmental impact
From the signing of the partnership agreement
Amid rising global awareness of the environmental impact of harmful emissions, the maritime industry has pushed carbon reduction strategies to the top of its agenda. Owners and charterers looking to continue to operate within global and regional emissions reduction mandates must explore options to optimise their performance sooner rather than later. This should be realised as part of a cost effective, long-term strategy for cleaner operations by reducing the amount of fuel burn on voyage.
However, quantifying how much fuel has been wasted due to controllable factors, such as trim, speed and fouling, and taking remedial action in real-time, has historically been unfeasible. This is due to the vast amounts of vessel and environmental data that needs to be analysed in order to present accurate findings in a timely manner.
By harnessing machine learning, GreenSteam’s software is able to address these challenges, making it possible to build vessel specific models for each vessel that creates a platform for real-time decision support to make live changes.
Building a baseline
This begins by creating a digital performance model of the vessel based on data across 13 different variables, encompassing ship performance and environmental conditions. GreenSteam’s AI platform identifies the impact each factor has on fuel usage.
GreenSteam’s Dynamic suite of services converts this information into operational recommendations while the vessel is in transit. These insights enable the crew to make fuel-saving decisions in real time, saving time and money while reducing emissions. Tools from this Dynamic suite will form the basis of DFDS’ unique enhanced performance platform.
Shaun Gray, Executive Chairman, GreenSteam, commented: “This partnership signifies the next step in our work with DFDS to deliver long term and widespread benefits to their operations. Together, we have demonstrated that a dynamic, machine learning-driven approach can support crews to make the most fuel-efficient decisions for any given voyage.
“As DFDS has recognised, reducing emissions doesn’t have to be at the cost of profitability – and in fact, both can be achieved and enhanced with machine-learning driven optimization of vessel operations. We look forward to continuing to develop our enhanced performance platform to help DFDS continue to lead in environmental standards and drive down bottom-line costs.”
Jacob Pedersen, Head of Projects and Implementation, DFDS, said, “After trialling and testing GreenSteam over many years, we have been impressed by the reduction in fuel consumption that can be achieved by applying machine learning to optimize even one aspect of vessel operations. Prior to signing our latest partnership agreement, we evaluated vendors from across the globe and are satisfied that our original partner, GreenSteam, is still significantly ahead of the curve with its real-time decision support service.”
“We are committed to driving down our greenhouse gas emissions across the fleet, while continuing to provide our award-winning service. Our partnership with GreenSteam will allow us to identify and cut down on unnecessary fuel consumption across our entire fleet.”
The rollout of the hardware across DFDS’ fleet will commence at the beginning of Q4 2020 and is expected to run through into early 2021.
