Spaera

We recently visited UCL East Marshgate building in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, together with our partners at Seabird Technologies. This visit was a celebration of our progress towards a significant milestone in the project we are running under the Smart Shipping Accelerator fund, a joint endeavour with our consortium partners: Seabird, UCL, and SCOTLINE LIMITED. During our visit, we were privileged to tour the Advanced Propulsion Lab and UCL East's state-of-the-art facilities. These innovative spaces are designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and drive forward-thinking research that Spaera is intent on fostering. This project aims to enable #SustainableShipping practices by developing smart digital tools to size and operate powertrains on fuel cell and #WindPropulsion equipped vessels. Our heartfelt thanks to Peng Wu, Yuanchang Liu and UCL Mechanical Engineering department for their warm hospitality and to all our consortium partners for their unwavering commitment to the project's success. For more details about the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund competition: https://lnkd.in/dzW4JU_a Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom to invest up to £8 million in innovation projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping and ports. These projects will carry out innovative feasibility studies.

Spaera are pleased to announce we are collaborating with NCCUK (National Composites Centre) to explore and harness the potential of advanced composite materials in the maritime industry. By integrating cutting-edge composites into vessel design, we aim to reduce weight and increase performance, a key requirement in improving overall efficiency. This partnership reflects our commitment to driving innovative solutions that will help us deliver on our ambition of net-zero emission maritime operation. Stay tuned as we share updates on this exciting journey toward a cleaner and more sustainable future for maritime shipping. #NetZero #MaritimeInnovation #Sustainability #CompositesForClimate

Fantastic to be back at the Boldrewood Wave and Towing Tank, University of Southampton again, working with the University of Southampton on better understanding the effects of #WindPropulsion on commercial vessels, and how we can maximise its effectiveness

Our own Edoardo Sirolla keeping the finger on the pulse with the latest on #WindPropulsion tech

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of an exciting new project aimed at enabling future technologies within #ZeroEmission commercial vessels! Spaera, in partnership with Seabird Technologies, SCOTLINE LIMITED, UCL, and part-funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom, are developing cutting-edge digital tools to optimize fuel cell and battery-based powertrains in next generation vessels supported by the latest in #WindPropulsionTechnology. This innovative project will tap into advanced #modelling, #MachineLearning, and #data analytics to create #powertrain solutions that push the boundaries of efficiency and performance. We’ll also be exploring the economic competitiveness of these zero-emission vessels, offering valuable insights for retrofitting current fleets and designing future ships. We’re as eager as ever to tackle one of the maritime industry’s biggest challenges: eliminating emissions while maintaining economic viability. Together with our partners, we’re working to accelerate the adoption of net-zero technologies across the sector. Learn more about our SSAF project ⁠here: https://lnkd.in/d3-_kgTu This project is part of the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund (#SSAF), funded by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered by Innovate UK. SSAF is part of the Department’s UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme, a £206m initiative focused on developing the technology necessary to decarbonise the UK domestic maritime sector. The UK Government has allocated £206m Research and Development (R&D) funding to UK SHORE, a programme within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions between 2022 and 2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero. Flagship competitions include the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) scheme and the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC). The UK SHORE programme includes the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund which provides match-funding to help bring pre-commercial smart shipping technologies closer to market readiness. SSAF allocated £8m to 31 projects across the UK to deliver innovative feasibility studies between November 2024 – March 2025. The projects are supported by over 103 partners and will leverage more than £3m of private investment. For more details about the Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund competition: https://lnkd.in/dzW4JU_a #UKSHORE #FutureofTransport #WPT #CleanMaritime

Spaera were delighted to attend Smart Green Shipping’s unveiling of their first #FastRig wing-sail mounted to a commercial vessel, the Pacific Grebe.   Having worked with the SGS team over the last several years, and knowing from experience within the Spaera team, getting to this momentous occasion took a significant amount of blood, sweat and tears, no shortage of which likely came from Di Gilpin, who has been leading the charge and pioneering #WindPropulsion for commercial ships for over a decade now.   Huge congratulations to the whole SGS team, it was a joy to watch. Our very own Robert Palin would have especially loved being present as one of many people who contributed to making this possible.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just released its Renewable Energy Report 2024, a comprehensive 177-page analysis of global energy trends. At Spaera, we focused on the #Maritime sector’s role in achieving #NetZero, particularly in relation to renewable fuels like #biodiesel. The report highlights a major challenge: biofuel usage in transport sectors is falling significantly short of the IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 trajectory — by as much as 14 times in some segments. The maritime industry is furthest off track, largely due to limited demand drivers beyond the EU’s ReFuelEU Maritime legislation. Without global coordination and swift policy action, we could see a 40% shortfall compared to net zero targets. This data underscores the urgent need for innovation and action in the maritime sector. At Spaera, we’re committed to advancing #ZeroEmission solutions to help transform this critical industry. The path forward is clear: we need new technologies and stronger global policies to close the gap and accelerate progress toward net zero. 🔗 Explore the IEA’s Renewables 2024 report for more insights 👇 https://lnkd.in/dUNE6JGv #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #MaritimeInnovation #ClimateAction

This week I started my new role at Spaera, where we're trying to make #ZeroEmission cargo shipping a reality. Other industries, like automotive, have technologies ready to take them to net zero, the challenge is more around scale up and infrastructure. In shipping there's no proven solution, which is where Spaera comes in.   I'm going to be doing all things data science and excitingly get to set up architecture from scratch, hopefully I'll make the right choices and won't be cursing my former self in a few years time! We’re also looking to recruit a #MechanicalDesignEngineer to help progress the design of our concept vessel. This is a really unique opportunity: fully #remote (UK-based), and you’ll be integral to advancing our proprietary #WindPropulsionTechnology. Here’s what we’re looking for: - #FEA (Finite Element Analysis) skills and strong proficiency with 3D #CAD software (e.g. Catia, NX, Solidworks, Fusion360). - Experience in mechanical design engineering (5+ years), with a solid understanding of structural performance, materials, and manufacturing processes. - The ability to balance performance, cost, and manufacturability in designs. If you’d like to know more, feel free to reach out. It’s a rare opportunity to help shape the future of #ZeroEmissionShipping. Based on my short time here, I'd thoroughly recommend working at Spaera, the overwhelming feeling is that the team genuinely care about solving the emissions problem in shipping, with (almost) no solution off limits!   Full details here: https://lnkd.in/egB9gA7B   And if you’re simply interested in the work we’re doing or might want to hear about future roles at Spaera, give us a follow!

I’m leaving #SMAGIC 24 Copenhagen invigorated by the willingness of the maritime industry to come together to figure out how it will reduce its impact on this one and only mostly wet rock we call home. While I try not to reference the EV industry and my time at Tesla as much as Robert Palin (just kidding Rob, we love the stories), I will make this one observation; In 2010 when I started my journey in the EV space, I remember the sentiment within industry was that we were idiots and Tesla was bound for inevitable failure, with many a reference to Tucker as an example of what happens when trying to start a new car company, let alone one based on a completely new energy medium. There were several “Tesla death-watch” publications that tried to guess the date of our certain demise, and a general air of negativity about our mission. In a lot of ways, the maritime industries' challenge is very similar to what automotive faced in the formative years of Tesla. We were trying to take an incredibly expensive, scarce, novel (for automotive) and lower energy density powertrain solution and compete with a business model built on fossil fuels that had been optimised over half a century. Supply chain was a problem, infrastructure was a problem, capital was a problem, regulation was a problem, technology was a problem. We needed to rethink the whole system in order to compete. The difference however is that within the maritime industry and supporting elements of governance, there is an openness to change and a willingness to try new things – evidenced well by Morten Bødskov in his keynote – “to face the challenges ahead, we must set innovation and technology free”. While I loved my time in the #EV space, I'm starting to see why folks who enter the #maritimeindustry tend to stick around. Thank you to Mark Chapman and the Department for Business and Trade for inviting me to represent Spaera at this event, and to all the other delegates and attendees that made it a fantastic experience – I hope that we can be a helpful and significant part of the positive change we’re starting to see. #SMAGIC24 #SmartMaritime #MaritimeTech #MaritimeTechnology #GlobalMaritime #SustainableShipping

Amazing talk by James Pomeroy, Global Economist at HSBC brings us new hope for the future of #SustainableShipping! Despite some uncertainty in global markets surrounding Pennsylvania and the 5th of November, there are plenty of positive signals pointing toward exciting opportunities for #GreenShipping and #SustainableGrowth. 𝙐𝙎 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, and when you strip out rental inflation, it’s practically zero. US consumers keep spending, driving demand for goods and keeping the economy resilient. 𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨, with an extra $5-600 billion in savings accounts and over $2 trillion in liquid cash in money market funds 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖’𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 - They’re adding solar power equivalent to five nuclear plants a week and over 40% of all cars sold in their market were fully electric or hybrid last year, leading to estimates that they may have passed peak emissions. This growth is a big part of the need for greater flow of relevant minerals, a pivotal role for shipping to support a sustainable transition. Meanwhile, 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖 is set to become the world’s 3rd largest economy by 2027, offering massive opportunities for shipping as we look at increases in trade routes and further opportunities for relevant green corridors. These trends are all likely to support commercial Maritime’s growth to hit expectations of a 3-fold increase in ocean going trade by 2050 (https://lnkd.in/gmG8fTz), making it even more critical that we dramatically reduce emissions from shipping. This is the core mission for our work at Spaera, where we’re combining technologies from across industries to come up with a truly zero emission and sustainable solution for commercial maritime.    #RenewableEnergy #Decarbonization #Spaera #SMAGIC24