ETC turbo generator technology aims to cut emissions from ships

If the shipping industry were a country, it would rank as the sixth largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, placing it roughly level with Germany.

The shipping industry already accounts for around two per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, but it is feared that this figure could rise by 2050.

To prevent this, earlier this year the International Maritime Organisation reached an agreement to cut emissions from the sector by at least half by 2050.

Now a UK consortium, led by Southampton-based Bowman Power Group, has developed a system that could help the industry to move a step closer to meeting this target, by improving the energy efficiency of a range of marine vessel types by up to 7.8 per cent per year.

The £1.5m project, which was partly funded by Innovate UK, also included Rolls-Royce Power Systems, Lloyds Register and University College London (UCL).

The system is based on Bowman’s electric turbo compounding (ETC) technology, a type of turbo generator, according to Shinri Szymko, head of engineering at the company.