Project Description
The maritime industry is undergoing a significant transformation as vessels become increasingly electrified and connected to shore-side energy infrastructure. Modern vessels are no longer isolated energy consumers. With large battery systems, renewable energy integration, and advanced energy management systems, ships have the potential to become active participants in future smart energy ecosystems.
To enable this vision, seamless communication and coordination between onboard Power Management Systems (PMS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), port energy management platforms, and utility grid operators will be required. Such integration could facilitate optimized charging, dynamic load management, energy trading, demand response participation, and future vessel-to-grid applications.
This project investigates how ships and shore-based infrastructures can exchange operational, energy, and control information securely and efficiently to support coordinated energy management.
Scope of Work
- Review state-of-the-art PMS and EMS architectures used onboard modern vessels.
- Identify key energy-related information that must be exchanged between vessels and shore.
- Investigate existing communication standards and interoperability frameworks.
- Analyse cyber-security and data governance challenges.
- Develop a reference architecture for ship-to-shore energy communication.
- Assess operational use cases including battery charging, peak load management, demand response, and energy market participation.
- Validate the proposed architecture through simulation or case studies.
Methodology
Literature Review
Review scientific publications, industrial standards, and maritime regulations related to digital energy integration.
System Architecture Analysis
Map interactions between vessels, ports, utilities, charging systems, and energy management platforms.
Digital Twin and Simulation
Develop simulation models representing ship and shore energy systems.
Stakeholder Assessment
Engage with maritime technology providers, port operators, and grid operators to understand requirements and constraints.
Gap Analysis
Identify missing capabilities in existing systems and propose improvements.
Expected Outcome
- Reference architecture for ship-shore energy coordination.
- Identification of critical communication requirements.
- Recommendations for interoperability standards.
- Guidelines for future smart port development.
- Scientific contribution toward maritime energy digitalization.
This project can be either 30 or 60 credits.