About 11 billion tonnes of goods, or approximately 1.5 tonnes per person worldwide, are transported per sea each year, representing around 90% of world trade in volume. Internationally, the merchant delivery fleet numbers approximately 110,000 ships. These ships, and the ports that serve them, contribute important contributors to the local and global economy – and they are important contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
A new consortium, formalized in a signature ceremony at MIT last week, aims to treat the emissions of climate swimming in the maritime transport industry, while supporting efforts for the environmentally friendly exploitation in accordance with the decarbonization objectives set by the international maritime organization.
“This is a timely collaboration with the main stakeholders in the maritime industry with a very daring and interdisciplinary research program that will establish new technologies and standards based on evidence,” explains Themis Sapsis, Professor William Koch in MIT maritime technology and director of the Center for Ocean Engineering of MIT. “It aims to get the most out of MIT in key areas for commercial shipment, such as nuclear technology for commercial parameters, autonomous operation and AI methods, improvement of hydrodynamics and ship design, cybersecurity and manufacturing.”
Co-directed by Sapsis and Fotini Christia, Professor Ford International of Social Sciences; Director of the Institute for Data, Systems and Company (IDSS); and director of MIT sociotechnical Systems Research Center, the newly launched MIT maritime consortium (MC) brings together employees from the MIT of the whole campus, including the Center for Ocean Engineering, which is housed at the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering; Idss, who is hosted at MIT Schwarzman College of Computing; the departments of nuclear science and engineering and civil and environmental engineering; Mit Sea Grant; And others, with a national and international community of industry experts.
The founding members of the Consortium Maritime are the American transport office (ABS), Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. and HD Korea ShipBuilding and Offshore Engineering. The members of the innovation are groups, Navios Maritime Partners LP, Singapore Maritime Institute and Dorian LPG.
“The challenges that the maritime industry face are challenges are challenges that no business or individual organization can take up alone,” explains Christia. “The solution implies almost all the disciplines of the engineering school, as well as the AI and the algorithms based on the data, and the policy and the regulations – it is a real problem of the MIT.”
Researchers will explore new conceptions for nuclear systems in accordance with the needs and technical constraints of commercial shipment, the economic and environmental feasibility of alternative fuels, new data-based algorithms and rigorous evaluation criteria for autonomous platforms in the maritime space, technicians of the situation of the cyber -physical situation for awareness of awareness. Employees will also advise research priorities on standards based on evidence related to the presidential priorities of the MIT around the climate, sustainability and AI.
MIT has been a first -rate research and design center for more than a century, and is widely recognized for contributions to hydrodynamics, mechanics and dynamics of ships, propeller design and overall design of ships, and its unique educational program for American navy officers, the naval construction and engineering program. Research today is at the forefront of ocean science and engineering, with significant efforts in mechanics and hydrodynamics of fluids, acoustics, offshore mechanics, robotics and marine sensors and detection and forecasting of the ocean. The Academic Foyer of the MIT consortium also opens the door to a cross collaboration across the Institute.
The MC will launch several research projects designed to meet the challenges from various angles, all united by data analysis and cutting -edge calculation techniques. Employees will look for new conceptions and methods that improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will explore the feasibility of alternative fuels and advance decision -making, manufacturing and materials based on data, hydrodynamic performance and cybersecurity.
“This consortium brings a powerful collection of important companies which, together, have the potential to be a world expedition shaper in itself,” explains Christopher J. Wiernicki SM '85, president and chief executive officer of ABS.
“The strength and uniqueness of this consortium are the members, which are all world class organizations and real difference manufacturers. The ability to exploit the experience and know-how of the members, as well as the technological scope of the MIT, creates a real jet fuel to generate progress, ”explains Wiernicki. “In addition to looking for key obstacles, bottlenecks and knowledge gaps in the challenge of emissions, the consortium seeks to allow the development of new technology and political innovation which will be essential. In the long term, the consortium hopes to provide the gravity we will need to fold the curve.”
