Metrology for green maritime shipping: Emission control through traceable measurements and machine learning approaches

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) aims to reduce carbon intensity from international shipping by at least 40% by 2030 through uptake of alternative zero and near-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) fuels. Due to their novelty, these energy sources, such as green ammonia, hydrogen and Power-to-X (PtX) fuels (e.g., biomethane), require the development of new or modified engines, as well as traceable measurements for pressure, temperature and emission concentration. Emission standards need to be made more accessible and assessed for their compatibility with new engine technologies, while spectroscopy-based techniques need to be established for a wider range of pressures, temperatures, operating conditions and species. Dynamic measurements are also required to monitor pressure and temperature inside engines, and low-cost sensors are needed to be made available for use in different systems.

This project will create measurement methods and references for temperature, pressure and emission concentration, with dynamic measurements for pressure and temperature established alongside new primary standards to optimise the efficiency of renewable fuels. These will be validated through inter-laboratory comparison and engine tests. New and existing measurement methods for both online and in-situ measurements of typical engine emissions generated by PtX fuels will be developed and used to validate low-cost sensors in dynamic environments. Predictive models will also be developed for emissions and engine performance using machine learning, as well as virtual sensor concepts to substitute high-cost sensors and estimate hard-to-measure quantities.

The work of the project will improve the uptake of alternative fuels in the maritime industry, reducing emissions from international shipping and reducing damage to the air and sea.