JOULES project developed 22 ultra low emission ship designs to cope with the requirements implied by the Paris agreement on climate change (COP21).

In collaboration with our international network partners, BALance initiated the project from the first idea to the project proposal in the framework 7 of the European Commission. We supported the operative project management with our long-term expertise and our project management software-tool BAL.PM.

BALance developed in collaboration with Flensburger Schiffbaugesellschaft the concept of life cycle performance assessment and developed the associated supporting tool BAL.LCPA, which was applied to analyse the achievements of each Joules demo-case in terms of economic viability and environmental footprint.

The RAMSSES-project pursues to accelerate the market introduction and uptake of novel materials into the shipbuilding sector by developing innovative lightweight material, assessing the economic viability and the environmental footprint and speeding up the approval process of new materials. Overall, RAMSSES develops new materials for 12 demo-cases, including cruise ships, RO-RO car-carriers and workboats.

In RAMSSES, BALance works collaboratively on the development of an integrated composite panel system with superior fire-resistant, thermal, acoustic and lightweight properties.

We are developing a common knowledge database to ease the access to all relevant information ranging from test-reports, material certificates or life cycle performance results.

BALance is responsible for analyzing the economic viability and the environmental footprint of the demo-cases applying the life cycle performance assessment-tool BAL.LCPA.

BALance supports the RAMSSES project management with its web-based project management tool BAL.PM.

NIMBLE develops a cloud based, industry 4.0, internet of things-enables B2B platform on which European manufacturing firms can register, publish machine readable catalogues for products and services, search for suitable supply chain partners, negotiate contracts and supply logistics and develop private and secure B2B and M2M information exchange channels to optimise business work flows.

BALance collaborates in the construction industrial scenario with wooden-house manufacturer LINDBÄCKS and composite bathroom specialist PODCOMP to optimise the information flow and enable tracing and tracking along the LINDBÄCKS supply chain.

Moreover, BALance adapts its life cycle performance assessment software tool BAL.LCPA to the NIMBLE platform to offer life cycle cost calculations and environmental footprint evaluation as a service to platform users.

LINCOLN improves the design and engineering in the maritime sector, by using innovative design methodologies and tools: a lean fact based design model approach; IT customized tools to enable the acquisition and usage of field data, coming from an IoT platform; High Performance Computing Simulation.

BALance is responsible for defining and performing the economic analysis including life cycle cost calculation with the BAL.LCPA software-tool.

The Manutelligence project aimed to integrate best in class methodology and tools from research and industry, resulting in a secure, cross disciplinary collaborative Product/Service Design and Manufacturing Engineering Platform. The platform have been applied and tested in four industry use-cases:

1. Car-Manufacturer
2. Shipyard
3. Wooden-houses manufacturer
4. FABLAB

BALance worked on the integration of its life cycle performance assessment tool BAL.LCPA into the Manutelligence platform, so designers can easily compare the impact of the designs changes in terms of life cycle costs in the design phase.

In addition, we supported the Swedish wooden-house Manufacturer LINDBÄCKS in the use case about gathering and analyzing product information throughout the lifecycle by utilizing IoT technology.

The overall objective of the NCC-FOAM project was to develop an Nano-crystalline cellulose foam/resin composite that enables the design, development and processing of sustainable structural foam materials. The use of infused resins had to be developed. The challenge was to produce foams that are simultaneously structural, durable and renewably-sourced.

BALance evaluated the market potential of NCC-foam applications across multiple industries in a market study, before the most promising applications – insulation foam in houses and wall panels systems on ships, were analysed in terms of life cycle costs in collaboration with industry partners by applying BALance´s BAL.LCPA software-tool.

Moreover, BALance was responsible for the risk management of the project and its exploitation activities.

The BESST project (Breakthrough in European Ship and Shipbuilding Technologies) aims to achieve a breakthrough in competitiveness, environmentally friendliness and safety of European built cruise ships, ferries and mega-yachts.

BALance contributed its longstanding project management experience to the BESST project management and supported the consortium with the project management software-tool BAL.PM.

BALance was responsible for the holistic life cycle performance assessment on ship level guiding the technical developments on system level and identifying optimisation potential. The impact on life cycle costs and environmental footprint compared to current designs was modelled and analysed in the BAL.L3C-software-tool, a joined development of BALance and Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft.

The main objective of the ThroughLife project was to develop and prove new approaches for through-life asset management for selected technologies and application scenarios in the maritime industry.

BALance initiated the project by forming the excellent consortium and managing and writing the project proposal. BALance was responsible for the project management in close collaboration with MEYER WERFT, supported by the project management Software tool BAL.PM.

BALance was responsible for creating new business models for through-life asset management based on number of workshops with industry partners.

To prove the economic viability and the superior ecological footprint of new approaches in combination with new technologies, BALance performed life cycle performance assessment (LCPA) for each technology utilizing the software-tool BAL.LCPA.

In addition, BALance created and maintained the project website and organised the final workshop, where the project results were presented and discussed with more than 100 participants of the maritime industry.

The focus of the SUSY (Surfacing System for Ship Recovery) project was to develop a system and procedures for preventive and emergency post-accident interventions on vessels. The goal was to combine satellite booster technology with air pressure systems and balloon technology to create a multipurpose modular system for ship rescue purposes. The project has developed a balloon-based system to stabilise damaged vessels after a collision and to support the raising of sunken vessels. Therefore, experts from the maritime and aircraft industry collaborated in the project.

BALance accompanied each development phase of the SUSY-system (from design to tests in real environment) with detailed life cycle cost analysis utilising the BAL.LCPA software-tool.

FENIX will demonstrate how three completely different industrial sectors (e.g. WEEE management, jewellery and 3D printing equipments) could be linked together in a more sustainable and networked supply chain able to cope with overcapacity issues, adopt industry 4.0 principles and exploit social media benefits in industrial systems. The final aim is to improve customer awareness about innovative materials recovery systems, sustainable reuse of resources and joined B2B vs B2C cooperation. This way, starting from a common source of secondary materials, three completely different markets (with completely different demands) could exploit the same plant and constitute a networked supply chain. Hence, FENIX could become the best mean for demonstrating the credibility and the technological / financial / environmental / social robustness of this new business to interested parties, being them industrial companies or private customers needing materials (or asking for advanced services).

BALance is responsible for defining a set of potential B2B and B2C business models and industrial strategies in several manufacturing sectors and to assess them.

Lightweight materials are being introduced for the construction of SOLAS-classed vessels, a development driven by increasing fuel costs and environmental concerns that has the potential to change the landscape of ship building and ship operation. Application cases have demonstrated that weight reductions of 50-60% are possible using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials instead of conventional steel and cost analyses have shown a great economic potential for the new materials.

BALance developed within the this project the DeLight - Design Tool including the material database comprising all the project’s test data as well as general material properties of the base materials used during the project.

Flooding Accident Response

Despite the fact that the maritime sector is continuously investing in increasing and maintaining safety on board ships, additional effort is needed in the pathway towards zero-loss of life and zero-pollution. The highest risk for persons on board ships comes with flooding accidents, but consequences may be reduced when appropriate actions are taken following such an accident, thus greatly reducing the probability of loss of life or damage to the environment.

The FLARE project will target a risk-based methodology for “live” flooding risk assessment and control, by developing a generic (all incidents in one model) and holistic (active and passive measures) risk model with potential application to newbuildings and, which is totally new, to existing ships. Innovative technical solutions in ship concepts and equipment for risk containment and control will be accompanied by proposals for the revision of relevant IMO regulations towards a risk-based approach to contain and control risk in passenger ships from flooding incidents, thereby significantly contributing to the safety of both passenger and ship.

BALance Technology Consulting GmbH coordinates the project in close cooperation with the University of Strathclyde, Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering.

The Paris and IMO agreements target a 50% reduction of CO2 emissions from maritime transport by 2050. There are a number of alternatives to achieve that goal. FASTWATER aims to meet this target, by moving shipping towards a clean and renewable fuel: Methanol. Methanol, as non-sooting fuel burning at low temperatures, enables an immediate reduction in pollutant emissions (effective in the short term), and offers a pathway to a climateneutral synthetic fuel produced from renewables (effective in the long term). Methanol can thus make an immediate impact and is a future-safe fuel. Being already available in large quantities in most ports today, and being a liquid fuel – so it is easily stored on board (which is advantageous to ship design) – methanol enables relatively simple retrofitting. Furthermore, it has compelling environmental properties with regards to marine life, with e.g. rapid dispersing and biodegrading of spills at sea should these occur. Methanol enables high energy efficiency in internal combustion engines, gas turbines as well as fuel cells, providing a long term value chain for current but also future technologies that few other fuels can offer.

ePIcenter will create an interoperable cloud-based ecosystem of user-friendly extensible Artificial Intelligence-based logistics software solutions and supporting methodologies that will enable all players in global trade and international authorities to co-operate with ports, logistics companies and shippers, and to react in an agile way to volatile political and market changes and to major climate shifts impacting traditional freight routes.

This will address the ever-increasing expectations of 21st century consumers for cheaper and more readily available goods and bring in Innovations in transport, such as hyperloops, autonomous/robotic systems (e.g. “T-pods”) and new last-mile solutions as well as technological initiatives such as blockchain, increased digitalisation, single windows, EGNOS positional precision and the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme.

ePIcenter thus addresses MG-2-9-2019 of H2020 Mobility for Growth “InCo Flagship on Integrated multimodal, lowemission freight transport systems and logistics”, particularly in what refers to new logistics concepts, new disruptive technologies, new trade routes (including arctic routes and new Silk routes) and multimodal transfer zones. ePIcenter will speed up the path to a Physical Internet and will benefit peripheral regions and landlocked developing countries. ePIcenter will reduce fuel usage (and corresponding emissions) by 10-25%, lead to greater utilisation of greener modes of transport reducing long distance movements by trucks by 20-25% and ensure a smoother profile of arrivals at ports which will reduce congestion and waiting/turnaround times.