Fincantieri discusses cruise vessel design amidst an unclear future regulatory environment

Marco Bognolo, Vice President Basic Design, Merchant Ship Business Unit, Fincantieri, in May sat down with classification society DNV for an interview on shipbuilding operations amidst an unclear future regulatory environment.

Bognolo has extensive experience previously gained in various disciplines of the technical department, in project management and as senior designer for cruise ships. Over the past decade he has been coordinating the technical definition of the prototype designs for passenger vessels developed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

The following is an excerpt from the full DNV interview here:

DNV: What is your approach to the different alternative fuel options being discussed for shipping?

Bognolo: Realizing that the future in terms of alternative fuels, technologies and regulations is very volatile, our only option is to build competencies in all fields. This includes exploring zero-carbon fuels like hydrogen and ammonia as potential solutions in case the current tank-to-wake regulatory approach will prevail and the only way to decarbonize will be to have no carbon in the fuel at all. Three years ago, we completed an experimental fuel cell installation to fully understand this technology. If future regulations prefer a well-to-wake approach, biofuels or e-fuels could become the most viable solution.

DNV: What impact does that diversity have on vessel design?

Bognolo: Looking at this variable scenario, we need to build and design projects with a great deal of flexibility. LNG is important today because in the current regulatory scenario it delivers a clear reduction in carbon dioxide emissions towards requirements like the EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) or CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator). We need to build flexible designs that can operate on bridge technologies like LNG or methanol now and on other fuels or technologies in the future so that we can gradually minimize emissions.

DNV: How far do you expect fuel cell technology to take you?

Bognolo: I do not see fuel cells taking over the entire energy supply required on a cruise vessel. It is not only a matter of total energy requirement but also operability. Based on our studies we now know that fuel cells are not capable of scaling a load ramp. They cannot react to sudden variations in energy load in the way an internal combustion engine can. I do not see a scenario in the future where we only have fuel cells. Rather, several technologies will be combined to cover the entire energy demand, for example fuel cells, batteries along with internal combustion engines to handle the demand fluctuations.

DNV: What future pathways do you see for LNG-fuelled ships built today when regulations tighten?

Bognolo: Several scenarios are imaginable. Some volumes of renewable LNG are already available today, and some cruise brands already use it as blend-in fuel. As long as the demand keeps increasing, I expect the availability of bio-LNG to increase as well. There may be a point in the far future where vessels will run on bio-LNG only and the regulation will have shifted from tank-to-wake to well-to-wake, and then we will be all set in terms of net zero. Another potential scenario occurs if the well-to-wake approach is not agreed. In that case we may have to opt for more complex solutions, for instance using LNG with fuel cells. A reformer would feed the fuel cells with hydrogen, and the resulting carbon dioxide would be captured.

DNV: How do you tackle the safety challenges that come with alternative fuels?

Bognolo: The companies of our group cooperate from the very beginning to ensure a safe product. We perform thorough simulations and hazard identification analyses during the pre-design phase of our projects. It is also important to involve suppliers and partner with class societies and flag authorities from early design stages because we need their expertise and capabilities during the definition of a new project to ensure we implement all possible mitigations.

Source: DNV
Photo credit: Fincantieri
Published: 17 August, 2023