Imagine giving an old fishing boat a modern makeover to make it glide through water more easily and use less fuel. It's like adding a hybrid engine, solar panels, and a smart energy manager to a vintage car to save money on gas. The goal is to make these upgrades cheap and easy to install so boat owners actually want to do it.
Traditional fishing fleets face high fuel costs and increasing pressure to reduce GHG emissions, but cannot afford to replace their entire fleet with new, expensive green ships.
A suite of retrofit kits including 50kW RIM drive motors, flexible silicon PV panels, air lubrication systems, and a cloud-based Eco-driving software.
If you are a fleet operator dealing with rising fuel costs and strict emission rules — this project developed a suite of retrofits including air lubrication and RIM drive motors that can reduce GHG emissions by up to 40%. This allows you to modernize without replacing your entire fleet.
If you are a shipyard dealing with a lack of affordable green upgrade options for clients — this project developed recyclable thermoplastic composites and flexible PV modules. You can offer these low-CAPEX solutions to fishing vessel owners to increase their efficiency.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with the harsh vibration and salt environment of ships — this project developed flexible silicon PV panels with anti-skipping and texturization. These are specifically designed for deck installation on fishing vessels.
Based on available project data, the specific price is not listed, but the project focuses on 'low CAPEX' and 'low OPEX' solutions to ensure a short payback time for boat owners.
The project specifically targets a 'broad range of small fishing vessels' and aims for scalable technologies that are easy to deploy across traditional fleets.
Based on available project data, licensing terms are not specified, but the project involves a consortium of 14 partners including 9 industry players.
The project runs until 2027-04-30, with a goal of ensuring upscaling of the proposed solutions through 2029.
Integration is achieved through retrofitting existing hulls with air lubrication, RIM drive pods, and flexible PV panels, managed by a cloud-based Eco-driving software.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven, with 9 industry partners (64% ratio) and 7 SMEs, indicating a strong focus on commercial viability rather than pure academic research. It spans 10 countries, providing a diverse market testing ground across the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions.
Contact Klaipėdos Universitetas in Lithuania
Contact us to connect with the REFEST consortium for licensing and pilot opportunities.
