This month, representatives of the HEMOS team had the pleasure of participating in the 30th SMM fair in Hamburg, where international maritime industry players and political leaders gathered. Retrofitting ships was one of the fair’s key topics. The HEMOS project sparked broad interest due to its innovative approach to the challenges caused by environmental restrictions and increasing energy costs.
“For four days, 2,000 exhibiting companies and over 30,000 industry visitors from more than 100 countries formed the “United Nations of Shipbuilding”,” the organisers report. It became evident that the shipping sector sets a direct course for climate protection and energy transition.
One of the critical challenges the industry needs to tackle is retrofitting its 60,000 merchant ships to make them more eco- and climate-friendly, said Stephen Gordon, Managing Director of Clarksons Research. According to him, the new chapter is opening up an enormous market for Europe’s supply industry. This explains the vast interest in the HEMOS project, which aims to tackle the challenges of shipowners and shipyards. While governments must ensure climate goals, the industry must adapt to new regulations while facing rocketing fuel prices. The HEMOS project addresses those challenges by helping to decrease pollution and achieving significant energy savings.
Martin Jõgeva, Naval Architect of LTH-Baas and Engineering Support for the HEMOS project, confirms that in addition to the partnership that HEMOS has with Royal Caribbean Group, several shipowners at the fair expressed interest in conducting data analysis on their ships. “Witnessing major interest in HEMOS reassured us that we are moving in the right direction. We are enthusiastic about collaboration in the maritime industry and are open to exchanging best practices. We also encourage the scientific community to reach out to us and see where we can work together. HEMOS is excited about future technologies and decarbonising the EU’s fleet by improving the ship heat energy system. We are thrilled to welcome like-minded people and businesses on board with us, so feel free to contact us.”
Kieron Loy, Group Marketing and Sales Manager of InEpact and member of the HEMOS team who also attended the fair, explains what made HEMOS stand out: “Naturally, I visited other provider stands to review their offerings in terms of decarbonisation and cost savings. It was encouraging to see that HEMOS uniquely takes the holistic approach, tailored for each application rather than an off-the-shelf offering centred on a small part of the total vessel.” Loy emphasises that the HEMOS approach is complete and comprehensive thermal mapping of the vessel, and all that impacts the energy on-board, such as weather conditions, passenger numbers and other influencers.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the honorary patron of SMM, stated that the focus of this SMM on climate-friendly technologies was more than welcome since “every innovation in the maritime sector supports the global economy as a whole”. HEMOS plans to contribute to this goal by increasing ship energy efficiency by approximately 14%, with a payback of around three years, depending on the application.
