European consortium launches FIT-Horizons retrofit optimisation project
Better and more holistic retrofit planning leveraging AI (Source: SINTEF)
A consortium of 19 maritime organisations has launched FIT-Horizons, a European project aimed at helping shipowners identify the most effective retrofit pathways for reducing vessel emissions through the use of artificial intelligence, advanced simulation tools and operational data.
The consortium includes shipowners, classification societies, technology providers, software developers and research institutions from across Europe, including SINTEF Ocean, Maritime CleanTech, VARD Design, Friendship Systems, Laskaridis Shipping, Bound4blue, Alfa Laval, ABS, Hurtigruten, Columbia Shipmanagement and the University of Strathclyde.
Coordinated by SINTEF Ocean and backed by EUR 4 million (USD 4.6 million) in EU funding, the project will develop an intelligent design platform capable of evaluating multiple decarbonisation technologies simultaneously, including alternative fuels, electrification, wind-assisted propulsion, air lubrication systems, hull modifications and other energy-efficiency measures.
Instead of assessing technologies individually, the platform will examine how different retrofit combinations interact onboard and perform together under real operating conditions across a range of vessel types. The consortium aims to reduce uncertainty around retrofit investments and accelerate the transition from concept evaluation to implementation.
"Shipping needs practical pathways to decarbonisation now, not only in the future,” said Kourosh Koushan, special advisor at SINTEF Ocean and coordinator of the project. “FIT-Horizons will help the industry make better retrofit decisions by understanding how different technologies interact onboard a vessel. Our ambition is to reduce uncertainty and accelerate the transition from analysis to implementation."
The project will include six virtual demonstration cases based on vessels already in operation across key European shipping segments, including inland waterways, short-sea shipping, deep-sea trades, ferries, cruise vessels and offshore.
In combining machine learning and surrogate modelling with operational data and high-fidelity simulations, the consortium hopes to create a decision-support environment capable of delivering more reliable and commercially viable retrofit planning.
Dystein Huglen, head of technology and innovation at Maritime CleanTech, said: "Reconstruction of existing ships to include one or more new technologies is complex and commercially difficult to evaluate. The industry needs tools that make it easier to identify the most effective decarbonisation routes for each vessel."
