Vessel Efficiency competition - dstl - challenges

Philip Smith /Chris Broadbent / Andrew Tate

Defence Science & Technology Laboratory [dstl] - MOD

November / December 2012

Vessel Efficiency Competition

Military vessel efficiencyRoyal Navy/ Royal Fleet Auxiliary Perspective

9 April 2023

© Crown Copyright 2012 Dstl UK UNCLASSIFIEDDSTL/CP64839

Published with the permission of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory on behalf of the Controller of HMSO

Why are we involved in this call?• 2.4% of UK Defence spending is on energy

& fuel (2010)– £628M - Equipment energy (Move)– £318M - Utility Energy (Fixed)

• If ‘business as usual’ maintained - worst case projection for proportion of the budget spent on fuel increases to:

– 2015: 3.9%– 2020: 7.0%

At what point does this impact on the delivery of military objectives?

• Hence; RN/RFA target to reduce fossil fuel use by 18% by 2020

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• Cost – increase of 1p per litre of fuel adds ~£13M to equipment energy bill

• Delivery to front line user – The cost of fuel at point of use must include transport costs, supply fleet, personnel and protection

• Operational effectiveness – decreasing fuel use impacts on ability to deliver expeditionary capability – reduce logistics ‘tail’

[deeper, further, quicker]

Drivers for MOD to use less energy

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• External pressures include:

– Open market fuel price

– HMG emission reduction commitments

– HMG’s desire to meet ever expanding environmental regulations (e.g. IMO tier III)

– Maintaining interoperability (e.g. with US Navy bio-fuels)

Key RN/RFA efficiency issuesMaintain military capability despite sustainability pressures:

• Potential impacts to energy availability & operational access

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Key RN/RFA efficiency issuesEfficiency improvements critical:

• RN targeted to reduce fossil fuel use by 18% by 2020

• RN/RFA specific challenges include:

– Introduction of larger platforms

– Extended use of energy intensive systems

– New operational areas – Arctic?

– Negative impact of some regulatory compliance technologies on efficiency

MOD must be able to maintain operations against the backdrop of external economic & geopolitical pressures

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Fleet composition already ‘set’ out to ~ 2050:• Classes in design & coming into service – Limited opportunity to exploit

whole ship solutions in near to mid term

• Looking for solutions capable of being integrated & exploited in current & near future platforms – retrofits; bolt-on; etc

• Larger ships offer biggest gains – but benefits in UXV’s, boats & subs

Key RN/RFA exploitation issues

Type 45Type 23 Queen Elizabeth Class

MARS

Designs fixed

Type 26 & UXVs/Small boats

MHPC

More flexibility

Future subs

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RN/RFA efficiency challengesAreas of focus• Efficiency gains should result in no impact to military capability • Thermal management

– More complex ships and modern weapons/sensors driving up ‘wild heat’– Reducing heat losses; transferring heat more efficiently & utilising waste heat– Thermal losses also impact areas such as signatures, crew effectiveness etc

• Minimising impact of emissions (& other) regulations– I.e. negating the negative impacts on weight, volume & efficiency of devices

such as Selective Catalytic Reduction

• Management & control of on-board energy use – Control software, sensors, advanced navigation & route planning tools etc.– Tools & Advice – i.e. helping the crews to lower energy use

• Weight saving• Drag reduction (‘Add-on’ hydrodynamics devices etc)

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MOD energy efficiency initiativesFunding in maritime energy efficiency split & constrained:

• Fundamental research; Low TRL; conceptual; studies – Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE)

– MOD (DSTL) Maritime Resilience programme

A gap in transitioning technology from concept to exploitation? This call is, therefore, a significant element of MOD funding in the area of

energy efficiency

• High TRL; adaption of COTs; Full-scale demo; exploitation– DE&S - Marine systems development in PTG

– DE&S - Ship projects e.g. T-26 IMO Tier III compliance & sustainable build; MARS energy efficiency assessment

• Green Ship Capability Planning Working Group (CPWG) – ‘glue’ between areas & industry

RN/RFA is a military force

The vessels are built of derivatives from civil / marine equipment - 99% of their time they will

operate like a civilian ship.

However; when needed they are expected to operate in a hostile military environment, and their crews lives depend on their survivability.

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Key Messages

• RN/RFA is a military force - Improved vessel efficiency enables the RN/RFA to maintain capabilities despite energy/cost challenges

• Key points - military energy efficiency improvements

– Targets 20% reduction in fossil fuels by 2020

– Costs 1p per Litre = £13M in MOD costs

– Exploitation Ideas must be exploitable in current platforms

– Interest Transitioning technologies, not studies

Vessel Efficiency Competition

Military vessel efficiencyRoyal Navy/ Royal Fleet Auxiliary Perspective

https://connect.innovate.org/web/vessel-efficiency

Thank you for your attention – We welcome any further questions?

Vessel Efficiency competition - dstl - challenges

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