The BOSS LEVEL project will investigate the feasibility of an on-board sensor and data acquisition network with AI-based analytics to address the challenges of ship-port interfaces in the era of future decarbonised vessel fleets. The project, which is part of the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund (SSAF), funded by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered by Innovate UK, will particularly focus on on-board battery energy storage systems (BESS) which are becoming major cost centres on many low-carbon vessels.

There is a growing realisation that future decarbonised vessel fleets will require a dramatic increase in the level of on-board instrumentation, data assimilation and analytics because optimised vessel efficiency will be essential to meet environmental and economic levels of performance, and this in turn depends on data-driven control systems that can optimise ship operations against multiple goals (carbon and pollutant emissions, fuel use, adherence to schedule, drive train degradation etc).

In addition, low-carbon electric and hybrid drive trains incorporate technologies (notably batteries) whose long-term degradation of state-of-health is not well understood and which require very extensive monitoring to ensure integrity and optimise maintenance. The added dimension of smart shipping trends towards de-crewing (and ultimately autonomy) will also depend on instrumentation to provide situational awareness to a shore station that advises the ship’s master and which mitigates risks arising from on-board fault or hazard conditions.

It’s clear that ship-port interfaces will increasingly depend on detailed knowledge about vessel status, ETA and vessel requirements when at berth, particularly in ports which are energy constrained  for example with limited capacity for shore power. This is the challenge that the BOSSLEVEL feasibility study will address.

The electric vehicle (EV) sector has been investing heavily in development of solutions for EVs.  Whilst maritime batteries are very different from EV batteries, with very different duty cycles, nonetheless there is a lot of potential to learn from EV battery monitoring and management approaches.  This cross-sector collaboration is embedded in BOSS LEVEL.

The project will carry out a reference design case study based on an existing vessel to illustrate a deployed system and to highlight compliance factors. This forms a key element of the subsequent commercialisation planning.  Costs and benefits will be analysed to support the investment case.  This analysis will include wider on-board and shore-based asset and emissions monitoring, as well as imaging for situation awareness, to define the communication bandwidth requirements and the channels to be used.

In addition, BOSS LEVEL will result in improved vessel energy efficiency through on-the-fly optimisation of vessel passage (speed) to achieve schedules with minimum energy use, thereby reducing the demand for recharging/bunkering in port and through the identification of degradation and loss of integrity before these become critical, allowing remedial measures to be implemented.  This prevents both avoidable inefficiencies and also potential risks of failure at sea.

The project will directly benefit three different maritime segments (ferries, offshore windfarm support vessels and harbour workboats) which will be assessed and the likely impacts on carbon and other emissions analysed.

The project will carry out a reference design case study based on an existing vessel to illustrate a deployed system and to highlight compliance factors. This forms a key element of the subsequent commercialisation planning.  Costs and benefits will be analysed to support the investment case.  This analysis will include wider on-board and shore-based asset and emissions monitoring, as well as imaging for situation awareness, to define the communication bandwidth requirements and the channels to be used.

Industry and academia are coming together as a consortia to deliver BOSS LEVEL including; B4T, specialists in IoT sensors; Swanbarton, experts in large-scale battery storage and mobility; HydroSurv, builders and designers of autonomous vessel power trains; WMG, specialists in battery systems research and development; the University of Portsmouth, drawing on expertise from the Centre for Environmental and Renewable Energy Solutions (CERES) and the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Houlder, a leading marine and offshore design and engineering consultancy and MSE International, maritime sector specialists in commercialisation planning and dissemination.

This project is part of the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund (SSAF), funded by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered by Innovate UK. SSAF is part of the Department’s UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme, a £206m initiative focused on developing the technology necessary to decarbonise the UK domestic maritime sector. The project will run until March 2025.

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BOSS LEVEL Partners:

B4T (BARTER FOR THINGS LTD) is an environmentally charged product development house specialising in IoT (internet-of-things) technology. B4T’s business model is developing and licensing IP. Since 2016 B4T have served maritime, utility, horticulture and waste sectors with first-of-a-kind sensor, software and analytics to drive positive environmental impact. Barterforthings.co.uk

MSE International is a sector consortium for the marine sector, established to stimulate investment and growth through innovation. MSE has a reputation for managing collaborative projects, commercialisation planning and dissemination. mseinternational.org

The University of Portsmouth (UoP) are specialists in battery modelling, data science, AI and machine learning, low carbon technologies, innovation, and environmental impact analysis. Port.ac.uk

HydroSurv is a UK-based specialist provider of research-informed Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) for hydrographic and environmental surveys. The fleet includes battery-electric and battery-hybrid vessels ranging from 1.6 to 6 meters, optimised for inland and coastal applications. Hydro-surv.com

Swanbarton is a consultancy and services company, with expertise in battery and other energy storage technology. It is the founder of the International Flow Battery Forum. swanbarton.com

Houlder is a leading independent design and engineering consultancy with sustainability at its core, that operations in the marine and offshore sectors. It supports clients through the entire procurement cycle from conceptual ideas to through-life operations. houlderltd.com

WMG is an academic department at the University of Warwick combining collaborative research and development with education programmes working in applied science, technology and engineering.  Warwick.ac.uk