Access Workshop

AENEAS will provide solutions to improve overall energy efficiency and drastically lower energy consumption of waterborne transport vessels, founded upon innovative electric energy storage, which is safe and cost competitiveness compared to traditional batteries. To achieve this, AENEAS will develop three electrical Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) for waterborne transport, which are advanced beyond the traditional battery systems including: 

• Solid-state batteries (SSB) for constant load waterborne transport applications. 
• Supercapacitors (SC) for water-borne transport applications for shaving of power peak demands and peaks during loading.  
• Hybrid system, which combines SSB and SC for waterborne transport applications requiring high energy and power density energy storage solutions.  

The AENEAS consortium unites all the necessary expertise for developing the three innovative electric Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) and implementing it in the industry. FLANDERS MAKE, ABEE, CEA, SIEMENS and I2M as leading experts in designing and developing energy storage and power systems. GRIMALDI, INLAND SHIPPING, FREIRE SHIPYARD and SOERMAR as end users that will implement the new technology. VAASAN YLIOPISTO, ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKIS and ISSNOVA as experts in research and technological transfer in the fields of battery technology and power electronics converters. Finally, FORMARE and FUNDACION VALENCIA PORT as service provider for the project management and the dissemination & exploitation strategy, focused on making sure that the key messages reach the relevant target groups.

Meeting Agenda

Day 2 – 10/06/2023

Stakeholder workshop

Access Workshop

The European Commission’s approval of the Next Generation EU Recovery and Resilience Funds is a unique opportunity for the European business sector that will undoubtedly also benefit the naval sector if they are used efficiently and support initiatives that reach the entire value chain of the sector and the largest possible number of companies. The naval sector is worth some 112,500 million euros in the EU as a whole, which represents 23.3% of the world total, led by Asian countries such as Korea, China, Japan and the USA. I have no doubts that the aforementioned aid can enable this industry to raise its position in this ranking, since Europe is a world leader in terms of added value both in high-tech ships and in onboard equipment and systems, highlighting the sector’s firm commitment to the development of technology to develop prototypes and improve processes.

And, of course, it is necessary that the administrations defend and support the efforts of the Spanish naval sector to reinforce the great potential it has as a reference in new ship prototypes, which must continue to rely on technology to move forward. So far this century, Spanish shipyards have carried out highly innovative projects with high technological capabilities applied to fishing, oceanographic, patrol, transport, offshore wind or tourist vessels, among others. Innovations that have also been implemented in repair and conversion, activities that are of great importance for many of our shipyards and for the entire shipbuilding industry. We have also managed to make our prototype ships sustainable.

But we cannot stand still. To keep moving forward, Spain must capitalize on its current strong position in shipbuilding and ship repair in the high-tech segments, and use the next 5 years to consolidate its position in Europe, while establishing a firm, united and coordinated position with the rest of the European countries to face strong international competition.

Because the maritime technology industry in Europe cannot remain static and comfortable in its current market niches, it must evolve. It needs to take actions. The next decade is likely to determine whether European shipbuilding can survive and grow or must undergo a new conversion.

There are many challenges it must take on, especially in the environmental area -with the use of new fuels-, digitalization and the application of smart technologies (such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, machine learning, robotization, 3D printing or virtual and augmented reality), maritime safety and the exploitation of marine resources. And, of course, the development and study of the design of new and innovative prototypes. It is also necessary to train in new technologies both the new generations joining the sector and those already working in it, in order to generate quality and stable employment, which will mean benefits for the whole society.

As I said before, this is a unique moment. Europe has approved the largest stimulus package in its history -806.9 billion euros-, of which Spain is one of the most benefited countries to implement structural reforms. It is essential to use them in an effective and sensible way. The Spanish naval sector needs this aid to plan projects, to finance them -since among its peculiarities is the fact that it develops non-serialized products, each ship is unique- and to climb positions in the international ranking.

At this moment, the role of the Administrations must be transparent and close to the different agents and interlocutors of the sector, in order to have a full knowledge of the needs of each link of the naval value chain. It is time to join efforts and propose projects to support and sustain with security the technological leap that society demands to maritime transport, and in this field the shipbuilding sector, the shipyards and the naval industry can contribute by developing an industrial activity that brings wealth to the areas where it is developed, that is a productive activity integrated with the environment in both urban and environmental areas, developing new types of ships with zero environmental footprint, implementing advanced technologies that lead us to have shipyards with efficient and sustainable processes, etc.
For all this, it is necessary to have programs that subsidize these actions, and that the administrative procedures are in accordance with the needs and peculiarities of the sector.

It is also important to know how these funds are being applied in our neighboring countries. In a study published last April by the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations), it is mentioned that in Italy the milestones linked to 2021 in the scope of the required reforms have been met in time and form and during the coming months most of the objectives will be to make investments. Portugal stands out for the detail and updating of data on the actual execution of funds, as well as for the progress in major projects. France stands out for strengthening the competitiveness of companies and reindustrialization, highlighting two measures for industries: the delivery of aid to relocate or develop activities in around 10,500 companies with an investment of more than 14 billion euros and the lowering of taxes on production, estimated at around 10 billion euros in 2021, which favored the growth of industrial companies.

Finally, we should mention the large number of tax incentives that have been implemented in the different national plans of countries such as Portugal, Denmark, France, Italy, Sweden, Greece and Austria. For example, we could mention some of them: tax measures to benefit the use of public transport, tax incentives that could improve the substitution of non-renewable natural resources by other biological resources, temporary increase of the tax deduction in companies that invest in technology, tax incentives to boost digital transformation or to implement major reforms in strategic industrial sectors.

As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities and we have a shipbuilding industry that is a strategic sector that requires large investments to carry out major structural reforms, which must face a stage of technological and training challenges. For this reason, we need to take advantage of this moment, launching projects and reforms that consolidate our competitiveness and our industry, and, for this, we need support instruments that take into account all the actors in the value chain of the sector (in the sector’s value chain), are accessible and respond to the demand and type of companies that exist. It is the time to join efforts and promote sector projects that bring together the needs of all, shipyards, auxiliary industry, shipowners…

“The development of this future project, based on an unprecedented technology at industrial level in the shipbuilding sector, would position the participating shipyards at the forefront in the development of clean and sustainable energy for self-supply”, explains Eva Novoa, general manager of SOERMAR.

Before designing the project, it is necessary to carry out a feasibility study with a structured methodology that guarantees its success and reduces risks and uncertainties at source. It assesses and analyses the potential of a future pilot development project to reduce emissions through the use of new technologies for which the participating shipyards have no specific knowledge or previous experience. This ensures that the decision-making process is objective and rational, that its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats are discovered, and that the resources needed to carry it out and its prospects for success are determined. The goal is the development of new or improved processes or services.

The scientific-technological objective of the project is to analyze the available technology related to the use of fuel cells and the feasibility of their application to supply the electrical and thermal needs of the participating shipyards. Also to investigate the different methodologies for using the residual heat of the fuel cell to increase its efficiency and reduce the need for other sources of energy for heating and hot water.

From a strategic point of view, the purpose is to design a facility for the generation and storage of sustainable electrical and thermal energy from hydrogen with guarantees of success. Also, to acquire knowledge for the participating shipyards to advance in the design and implementation of this technology in ship prototypes, which will allow them to have a technical and technological differentiation that will make them more eco-efficient and competitive at national and international level.

“In turn, from an industrial perspective, the objectives pursued are to achieve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use hydrogen for the production of electrical energy with an efficiency of no less than 80%, for which it is necessary to use energy from the waste heat generated by the fuel cell, which means having specialized technologists in the field,” says Alfonso Carneros, technical director of SOERMAR.

The HYPOBATT project high-power ship battery hyper-chargers, aims to improve the efficiency of fast recharging systems by 20% in a realistic environment through a modular, fast and simple system, and to develop new models of business for battery-powered boats. The scientific-technological results that are expected to be achieved are the reduction to less than 30 seconds of the connection time after mooring, of 20% of the waiting time for the preparation of the load, of 10% of the loading time, as well as two full-scale demonstrators and the development of a redundant modular approach that reduces service and maintenance costs from 10 to 7.5%.

From an economic point of view, the project “will allow the development of new business models for electric vessels, the technological leadership of Europe in fast battery charging systems and create ports with zero emissions”, in the opinion of Alfonso Carneros, technical director of SOERMAR. For her part, Eva Novoa, general director of this entity, points out as social advantages of these new business models “the increase in the competitiveness of Europe, which will result in the creation of employment and growth, in addition to the improvement of the environment. environment”.

Of the 8 work packages in which the project is organized, SOERMAR will participate in 4: the definition of use cases, requirements, and specifications; the business model and interactions of the Group of Stakeholders; standardization and regulations, and dissemination, exploitation and communication.

HYPOBATT involves 19 partners from ten European countries, it will take 42 months and has a budget of 9,833,401 euros.

Regarding the ODISSES project (Optimal Design of Integrated Sustainable Energy Systems for Ships), it proposes a combination of innovative zero-emission solutions, fuels, operational approaches and technologies, driven by ambitious regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (GHG) and improve energy efficiency by 20%.

Its objective is to develop the next generation of ships to support the transition towards the decarbonisation of maritime transport through an energy efficient next generation plug & play simulation platform. Solutions include novel design, optimized powertrains, waste heat recovery, electrical storage, and use of a digital twin to optimize performance.

The main innovations proposed by the project are: innovative architecture and designs for new boats; global energy and thermal management to achieve increased energy efficiency; development of the digital twin and integrable models and the modular HiL simulation system for testing, as well as the real-time validation of new solutions for power systems of various types of vessels.

SOERMAR’s participation in this project would consist of the realization of a roadmap on the existing regulations focused on reducing energy consumption and reducing GHG gas emissions and on improving knowledge about the application of innovative solutions that allow reducing the energy consumption and emissions in the maritime sector, in line with the Strategic R + D + i Vision 2030 Plan of the European Union.

To carry it out, a budget of 4.99 million euros and 48 months is needed. 15 partners from 9 countries of the European Union and associates participate in the proposal.

PERFORN (development and demonstration of a high temperature fuel cell system for water transport), for its part, focuses on the development of a combined cycle system SOFC (solid oxide fuel cells) for maritime transport totally innovative. The novelty is that it would be a scalable, modular and profitable system, in addition to complying with the regulations of the maritime sector.

The objectives of this proposal, in which SOERMAR represents the Spanish shipyards, are, among others, to achieve a reduction in gas emissions of 20% compared to conventional fuels, demonstration of the technologies developed in the propulsion environment hybrid and onboard a vessel, and the development of a real plan to enable the SOFC combined cycle system in marine applications.

The consortium that has prepared the proposal is made up of 22 partners from 10 countries. Its budget is 16.834.636 euros, and it is expected to run for 48 months.

“All these projects are integrated into Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation framework program that seeks to make Europe climate neutral by 2030, and it is very important to participate in them, since their materialization can mean, in addition to important innovations and improvements for the shipbuilding sector, the return to Spain of millions of euros of Community funds”, highlights Eva Novoa.

About SOERMAR:

SOERMAR is the Society for the Study of Maritime Resources, an entity made up of the SOERMAR Technological Center and the SOERMAR Technological Center Foundation. Its shareholders and employers are 18 of the main small and medium-sized private Spanish shipyards. Its objective is to improve the competitiveness of shipyards by increasing the efficiency of their industrial activity. For this, his work focuses on the development of R & D & i projects, training and support to shipyards in technical and technological matters, as well as in areas such as quality, organization of production, training, documentation, dissemination, legislation, design or environment. It is also its representative before the different public institutions. At the same time, it encourages and develops cooperative research between shipyards and companies related to shipbuilding and the maritime sector.

The scholarships have a duration that coincides with the academic year, from September 2021 to June 2022. Students will work on R + D + i projects proposed by both SOERMAR, its member shipyards and the auxiliary shipbuilding industry. The main objective of these scholarships, which are convened annually, is that the students of the Higher Technical School of Naval Engineers have a first contact with R + D + i projects proposed by the industry and, in this way, complement the already high level of academic knowledge acquired throughout their intense academic training.

The projects in which the scholarship holders will participate will be related to the following areas:

• Technologies for liquefied natural gas and other alternative fuels in ships, such as hydrogen and ammonia, carried out as feasibility studies and for generating knowledge between SOERMAR and the UPM.
• Application of new materials in ship design and construction.
• Applications of new processes under the Industry 4.0 concept in the Shipbuilding Sector.
• New prototypes of ships. Feasibility studies and advanced conceptual design.

Twenty-four companies and entities with common interests have come together to form a consortium created by the Cantabria Maritime Cluster – MarCA to carry out the renewable energy project “Green Hidrogen Cantabria”. This initiative, developed in collaboration with the Foundation and Technological Center of the Medium and Small Shipyards SOERMAR and presented virtually last March, was born as a unique project in Cantabria with the aim of promoting the use of green hydrogen as fuel in the industrial fabric of the community, a direct commitment to environmental decarbonisation. In this sense, the initiative aims to build a green hydrogen generation plant in the region, which also has a chain for the storage, distribution and application of this energy source in various industrial areas.

For its execution, the consortium estimates a necessary budget of 6.2 million euros and a completion period of between 34 and 36 months.

The entities attached to ‘Green Hidrogen Cantabria’ belong to various sectors, thus being in charge of executing a wide variety of activities to promote the development of the project in a collaborative way. It is a cross-cutting initiative that is open to the participation of all stakeholders, from design and production engineering to the distribution and application of green hydrogen.

‘Green Hydrogen Cantabria’ gives the region the opportunity to develop the production of this energy source in a profitable manner. The Government of Cantabria, with its regional strategy, is already betting on hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels, so investigating the industrial utility of gas in the community is a unique opportunity to be a national benchmark. TThe region has the solar resources, the knowledge in wind energy and the existence of specialized renewable energy companies necessary to take the lead in industrial decarbonization.

In addition, the use of green hydrogen can be a major boost to the blue economy. As reported by SOERMAR during the presentation of the ‘Green Hydrogen Cantabria’ project, the potential of hydrogen for 2030 is estimated in a volume
business of 1,300 million euros in the national market and the creation of 227,000 jobs. The presentation ceremony, held on March 17 in a virtual way, had the registration of almost a hundred people, a wide reception derived
of the uniqueness of the project.

Entities attached to the consortium

Over the last few weeks, twenty-four companies and organizations have contacted the Cantabria Maritime Cluster to form part of the consortium that will promote the “Green Hidrogen Cantabria” project and will make the initiative become a real event.

We list below the organizations that make up ‘Green Hidrogen Cantabria’:

• Framatome Spain
• Grupo FAED
• Avancem
• Montajes Gomur
• IH Cantabria
• Estudio de Fluidos
• Marine Project Managment
• Bureau Veritas
• Coflucam
• Motusa
• Trabede
• WSP Spain
• Siemens Energy
• Equipos Nucleares
• Fernandez Jove
• Astander
• Newtesol
• Caymo Maintenance
• Iberdrola Clientes
• CIC Consulting Informatico
• DNV GL
• ITEC
• Centro Tecnológico CTC
• Vila Electroquimica

The General Assembly approved the draft of the meeting agenda on March 19, the 2020 financial report, addressed the entry of new members and requested that the candidates to the Board of Directors have extensive experience, establishing the dynamics of the process of election of the new members of the Board of Directors.

SOERMAR has been a member of the European platform since its constitution. He has been collaborating with her for 15 years, actively participating in the preparation of the technical documents prepared by Waterborne and providing the representation of the R & D & I interests of the medium and small Spanish shipyards that comprise it. In addition, it proposes lines of research to develop the technological challenges demanded by society in the maritime field and transfers the needs of shipyards and their auxiliary industry.

This activity is in line with the usual one of SOERMAR, which, through its Technological Center and its Foundation, focuses on the development of R + D + i projects, on improving the efficiency of Spanish shipyards to increase their competitiveness and in supporting its shareholders and employers in all aspects related to quality, organization, training, design, the environment or regulations, among others.

Waterborne is aimed at establishing a continuous dialogue between all parties involved in the shipbuilding industry, such as classification societies, shipbuilders, shipowners, maritime equipment manufacturers, infrastructure and service providers, universities or research institutes and the institutions of the EU, including Member States. Both countries with a coastline and others that only have inland navigation are part of the platform. In total, about 17 states are represented. Furthermore, the associations that are part of Waterborne represent the broader shipbuilding sector in the entire EU.

Among the main strategic objectives of the platform, it is also found to contribute to the broadest possible consensus in relation to R&D, as well as to develop a common vision of it in the medium and long term and a strategic research agenda. On the other hand, it also contributes to the adequate mobilization and allocation of the necessary financial resources (private / regional / national / EU sources) and to the fulfillment of social expectations regarding clean, competitive and safe water transport, and other related activities. with water, including education and training.

About SOERMAR:

SOERMAR is the Society for the Study of Maritime Resources, an entity made up of the SOERMAR Technological Center and the SOERMAR Technological Center Foundation. Its shareholders and patrons are 18 of the main small and medium Spanish private shipyards. Its objective is to improve the competitiveness of shipyards through an increase in the efficiency of their industrial activity. To this end, its work focuses on the development of R+D+i projects, training and support for shipyards in technical and technological matters, as well as in areas such as quality, organization of production, training, documentation, dissemination, legislation, design or environment. It is also its representative before the different public institutions. At the same time, it encourages and develops cooperative research between shipyards and companies related to shipbuilding and the maritime sector.

The president of the SOERMAR Technological Center and CEO of Astilleros Mallorca received the Minister of Industry, who was also accompanied by the president of the Balearic Government, Francina Armengol. During the tour of the facilities, they explained the activity that takes place in these and commented on the main concerns of the sector, while the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism was interested in the economic situation and the importance for the economy of the island of companies dedicated to the maintenance and repair of yachts. In addition, she showed her satisfaction with the commitment of this sector to innovation and technological development.

Precisely, the vice president and minister of Energy Transition and Productive Sectors of the Balearic Government, Juan Pedro Yllanes, who was one of the minister’s companions on the visit, highlighted that the yacht repair sector has a turnover of more than 560 million euros every year in the autonomous community and employs more than 3,000 people. The president of the Balearic Port Authority (APB), Francesc Antich, also participated in the visit.

Reyes Maroto also met with the Balearic tourism sector and with business and union representatives from the industrial and commercial sectors of the island.

SOERMAR’s activity, through its Technology Center and its Foundation, focuses on the development of R + D + i projects, on improving shipyard efficiency to increase their competitiveness and on supporting its shareholders in all areas. aspects related to quality, organization, training, design, environment or regulation, among others.

About SOERMAR:

SOERMAR is the Society for the Study of Maritime Resources, an entity made up of the SOERMAR Technological Center and the SOERMAR Technological Center Foundation. Its shareholders and patrons are 18 of the main small and medium Spanish private shipyards. Its objective is to improve the competitiveness of shipyards through an increase in the efficiency of their industrial activity. To this end, its work focuses on the development of R+D+i projects, training and support for shipyards in technical and technological matters, as well as in areas such as quality, organization of production, training, documentation, dissemination, legislation, design or environment. It is also its representative before the different public institutions. At the same time, it encourages and develops cooperative research between shipyards and companies related to shipbuilding and the maritime sector.