March 15, 2023
Reading time: 4 minutes

Development of a performance prediction tool for the decarbonization of maritime transport

Caponnetto Hueber has confirmed its participation in PERTE Naval, the strategic program promoted by the Government of Spain and led by PYMAR and Navantia to modernize and decarbonize the shipbuilding value chain through advanced digital technologies and clean propulsion solutions.

The company participates within the framework of the INNCODIS Tractor Project, which brings together dozens of companies from across the sector with the objective of strengthening the competitiveness of the Spanish naval industry, diversifying its activity and aligning it with the challenges of the energy transition and digitalization.

A Digital Twin to predict and optimize ship energy performance

Within Primary Project PP23 “GEMELOTEC”, Caponnetto Hueber leads Work Package 1 (PT1), focused on the development of a performance prediction tool for the decarbonization of maritime transport.

This tool is a new-generation Power/Velocity Prediction Program (PPP/VPP) specifically designed to analyse ships equipped with Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) technologies, such as Flettner rotors, rigid sails or suction devices.

Unlike traditional approaches, the tool is built around a high-fidelity Ship Digital Twin, which integrates:

  • Extensive CFD (aerodynamic and hydrodynamic) campaigns at full scale, to accurately capture the interaction between hull, propeller and wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • Advanced surrogate models (response surfaces, Kriging, GPR, RBF and others) to interpolate forces and moments for any combination of speed, draft, attitude, wind and control configuration.

  • Optimization algorithms capable of solving the balance of forces and moments and generating minimum-power polars for each ship and wind-assist configuration.

On top of this foundation, a route optimization module is integrated, using historical wind and wave data and shortest-path algorithms to evaluate energy-optimal routes under different time-of-arrival constraints. This enables rigorous comparison of performance:

  • With and without wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • On direct (great-circle) routes versus deviated routes that better exploit available wind.

  • Under speed reduction scenarios, quantifying their impact on fuel consumption and emissions.

From physics to business: fuel savings, CII and return on investment

The tool is conceived not only as a high-fidelity physical model, but as a decision-support system for shipowners, operators and shipyards.

Its KPI module allows the calculation, for each ship, route and operating scenario, of:

  • Fuel savings and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, comparing configurations with and without wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • Impact on the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and on compliance trajectories with IMO decarbonization targets and EU regulations.

  • Return on investment (ROI) for wind-assisted propulsion solutions in both newbuilds and retrofits, considering CAPEX, OPEX and realistic operating profiles.

In this way, it reduces the uncertainty associated with emerging technologies and enables objective comparison between different WASP solutions and ship designs, providing both technical and economic transparency to decarbonization projects.

Strategic impact for PERTE Naval and the Spanish maritime cluster

PERTE Naval aims to create an innovative, diversified and sustainable industrial ecosystem, with a strong focus on digitalization, low-emission vessels and advanced workforce skills.

Caponnetto Hueber’s contribution strengthens several of these pillars:

  • Digitalization

    • Development of a modular Ship Digital Twin architecture, reusable across different ship types and shipyards.

    • Integration of CFD, surrogate models, PPP and route optimization into a single workflow, with an interface tailored to design and operational studies.

  • Decarbonization and green competitiveness

    • Robust quantification of the real potential of wind-assisted propulsion to meet IMO and EU objectives (EEXI, CII, FuelEU Maritime, EU ETS).

    • Support to Spanish shipyards and shipowners in designing, validating and marketing wind-ready and wind-optimized vessels in a rapidly growing global market.

  • Industrial innovation and collaboration

    • Alignment with international initiatives and research in wind-assisted propulsion, while delivering a proprietary high-fidelity methodology developed in Spain.

A project aligned with Europe’s green transition

PERTE Naval is funded by the European Union through NextGenerationEU and is part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which focuses on sustainability, digitalization and the reindustrialization of strategic sectors.

Through this project, Caponnetto Hueber directly contributes to:

  • Reducing emissions from maritime transport using solutions based on high-fidelity physics and real operational data.

  • Digitally transforming ship design and operation, supporting decision-making through Digital Twins and advanced simulation tools.

  • Positioning the Spanish naval sector as an international benchmark in digital and sustainable ship design.

Caponnetto Hueber has confirmed its participation in PERTE Naval, the strategic program promoted by the Government of Spain and led by PYMAR and Navantia to modernize and decarbonize the shipbuilding value chain through advanced digital technologies and clean propulsion solutions.

The company participates within the framework of the INNCODIS Tractor Project, which brings together dozens of companies from across the sector with the objective of strengthening the competitiveness of the Spanish naval industry, diversifying its activity and aligning it with the challenges of the energy transition and digitalization.

A Digital Twin to predict and optimize ship energy performance

Within Primary Project PP23 “GEMELOTEC”, Caponnetto Hueber leads Work Package 1 (PT1), focused on the development of a performance prediction tool for the decarbonization of maritime transport.

This tool is a new-generation Power/Velocity Prediction Program (PPP/VPP) specifically designed to analyse ships equipped with Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) technologies, such as Flettner rotors, rigid sails or suction devices.

Unlike traditional approaches, the tool is built around a high-fidelity Ship Digital Twin, which integrates:

  • Extensive CFD (aerodynamic and hydrodynamic) campaigns at full scale, to accurately capture the interaction between hull, propeller and wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • Advanced surrogate models (response surfaces, Kriging, GPR, RBF and others) to interpolate forces and moments for any combination of speed, draft, attitude, wind and control configuration.

  • Optimization algorithms capable of solving the balance of forces and moments and generating minimum-power polars for each ship and wind-assist configuration.

On top of this foundation, a route optimization module is integrated, using historical wind and wave data and shortest-path algorithms to evaluate energy-optimal routes under different time-of-arrival constraints. This enables rigorous comparison of performance:

  • With and without wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • On direct (great-circle) routes versus deviated routes that better exploit available wind.

  • Under speed reduction scenarios, quantifying their impact on fuel consumption and emissions.

From physics to business: fuel savings, CII and return on investment

The tool is conceived not only as a high-fidelity physical model, but as a decision-support system for shipowners, operators and shipyards.

Its KPI module allows the calculation, for each ship, route and operating scenario, of:

  • Fuel savings and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, comparing configurations with and without wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • Impact on the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and on compliance trajectories with IMO decarbonization targets and EU regulations.

  • Return on investment (ROI) for wind-assisted propulsion solutions in both newbuilds and retrofits, considering CAPEX, OPEX and realistic operating profiles.

In this way, it reduces the uncertainty associated with emerging technologies and enables objective comparison between different WASP solutions and ship designs, providing both technical and economic transparency to decarbonization projects.

Strategic impact for PERTE Naval and the Spanish maritime cluster

PERTE Naval aims to create an innovative, diversified and sustainable industrial ecosystem, with a strong focus on digitalization, low-emission vessels and advanced workforce skills.

Caponnetto Hueber’s contribution strengthens several of these pillars:

  • Digitalization

    • Development of a modular Ship Digital Twin architecture, reusable across different ship types and shipyards.

    • Integration of CFD, surrogate models, PPP and route optimization into a single workflow, with an interface tailored to design and operational studies.

  • Decarbonization and green competitiveness

    • Robust quantification of the real potential of wind-assisted propulsion to meet IMO and EU objectives (EEXI, CII, FuelEU Maritime, EU ETS).

    • Support to Spanish shipyards and shipowners in designing, validating and marketing wind-ready and wind-optimized vessels in a rapidly growing global market.

  • Industrial innovation and collaboration

    • Alignment with international initiatives and research in wind-assisted propulsion, while delivering a proprietary high-fidelity methodology developed in Spain.

A project aligned with Europe’s green transition

PERTE Naval is funded by the European Union through NextGenerationEU and is part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which focuses on sustainability, digitalization and the reindustrialization of strategic sectors.

Through this project, Caponnetto Hueber directly contributes to:

  • Reducing emissions from maritime transport using solutions based on high-fidelity physics and real operational data.

  • Digitally transforming ship design and operation, supporting decision-making through Digital Twins and advanced simulation tools.

  • Positioning the Spanish naval sector as an international benchmark in digital and sustainable ship design.

Caponnetto Hueber has confirmed its participation in PERTE Naval, the strategic program promoted by the Government of Spain and led by PYMAR and Navantia to modernize and decarbonize the shipbuilding value chain through advanced digital technologies and clean propulsion solutions.

The company participates within the framework of the INNCODIS Tractor Project, which brings together dozens of companies from across the sector with the objective of strengthening the competitiveness of the Spanish naval industry, diversifying its activity and aligning it with the challenges of the energy transition and digitalization.

A Digital Twin to predict and optimize ship energy performance

Within Primary Project PP23 “GEMELOTEC”, Caponnetto Hueber leads Work Package 1 (PT1), focused on the development of a performance prediction tool for the decarbonization of maritime transport.

This tool is a new-generation Power/Velocity Prediction Program (PPP/VPP) specifically designed to analyse ships equipped with Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) technologies, such as Flettner rotors, rigid sails or suction devices.

Unlike traditional approaches, the tool is built around a high-fidelity Ship Digital Twin, which integrates:

  • Extensive CFD (aerodynamic and hydrodynamic) campaigns at full scale, to accurately capture the interaction between hull, propeller and wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • Advanced surrogate models (response surfaces, Kriging, GPR, RBF and others) to interpolate forces and moments for any combination of speed, draft, attitude, wind and control configuration.

  • Optimization algorithms capable of solving the balance of forces and moments and generating minimum-power polars for each ship and wind-assist configuration.

On top of this foundation, a route optimization module is integrated, using historical wind and wave data and shortest-path algorithms to evaluate energy-optimal routes under different time-of-arrival constraints. This enables rigorous comparison of performance:

  • With and without wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • On direct (great-circle) routes versus deviated routes that better exploit available wind.

  • Under speed reduction scenarios, quantifying their impact on fuel consumption and emissions.

From physics to business: fuel savings, CII and return on investment

The tool is conceived not only as a high-fidelity physical model, but as a decision-support system for shipowners, operators and shipyards.

Its KPI module allows the calculation, for each ship, route and operating scenario, of:

  • Fuel savings and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, comparing configurations with and without wind-assisted propulsion systems.

  • Impact on the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and on compliance trajectories with IMO decarbonization targets and EU regulations.

  • Return on investment (ROI) for wind-assisted propulsion solutions in both newbuilds and retrofits, considering CAPEX, OPEX and realistic operating profiles.

In this way, it reduces the uncertainty associated with emerging technologies and enables objective comparison between different WASP solutions and ship designs, providing both technical and economic transparency to decarbonization projects.

Strategic impact for PERTE Naval and the Spanish maritime cluster

PERTE Naval aims to create an innovative, diversified and sustainable industrial ecosystem, with a strong focus on digitalization, low-emission vessels and advanced workforce skills.

Caponnetto Hueber’s contribution strengthens several of these pillars:

  • Digitalization

    • Development of a modular Ship Digital Twin architecture, reusable across different ship types and shipyards.

    • Integration of CFD, surrogate models, PPP and route optimization into a single workflow, with an interface tailored to design and operational studies.

  • Decarbonization and green competitiveness

    • Robust quantification of the real potential of wind-assisted propulsion to meet IMO and EU objectives (EEXI, CII, FuelEU Maritime, EU ETS).

    • Support to Spanish shipyards and shipowners in designing, validating and marketing wind-ready and wind-optimized vessels in a rapidly growing global market.

  • Industrial innovation and collaboration

    • Alignment with international initiatives and research in wind-assisted propulsion, while delivering a proprietary high-fidelity methodology developed in Spain.

A project aligned with Europe’s green transition

PERTE Naval is funded by the European Union through NextGenerationEU and is part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which focuses on sustainability, digitalization and the reindustrialization of strategic sectors.

Through this project, Caponnetto Hueber directly contributes to:

  • Reducing emissions from maritime transport using solutions based on high-fidelity physics and real operational data.

  • Digitally transforming ship design and operation, supporting decision-making through Digital Twins and advanced simulation tools.

  • Positioning the Spanish naval sector as an international benchmark in digital and sustainable ship design.