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Faculty of Applied Science / Mechanical Engineering / 2024 / November / 13 / Working to accelerate sustainable ship propulsion, Dr. Patrick Kirchen named Rosenblatt Professor in Marine Engineering

Working to accelerate sustainable ship propulsion, Dr. Patrick Kirchen named Rosenblatt Professor in Marine Engineering

November 13, 2024

Dr. Patrick Kirchen smiles at the viewer. He has black glasses, and a short beard. Behind his image is a photo of a busy shipping harbour, with containers being loaded off a vessel by crane.

Associate Professor Patrick Kirchen has been named the inaugural holder of the Rosenblatt Professorship in Marine Engineering at UBC. This new Professorship was made possible by Bruce S. Rosenblatt & Associates LLC, and provides five years of support for research and educational programming that accelerates the implementation of sustainable, low carbon intensity fuels in the marine industry.

The International Maritime Organization has identified the adoption of low carbon intensity fuels as an important tool to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from marine industries, however, it is not clear which of the many candidate fuels and new technologies are suitable for a given marine application. The options facing industry are many – fuels like renewable natural gas, biofuels, renewable diesel, methanol, hydrogen, ammonia, or electricity – but each may have different impacts on GHG emissions or pose different barriers to short term implementation.

For example, existing ship engines can be easily retrofitted to use biofuels, which would allow easier conversion of an existing fleet to a new fuel type, but we lack real-world data on how these fuels affect GHG emissions or air quality when used for industrial shipping. Dr. Kirchen’s research will investigate how biofuels and other low carbon intensity propulsion methods can be best implemented by commercial freight vessels, working with industry partners to measure and assess the performance of different fuel types in the field as well as the lab. The results will be used to create an implementation strategy that can guide shipbuilders, engine manufacturers, vessel operators, fuel suppliers, policymakers, and legislators in adopting new fuel types, how to implement them, and measures to reduce fuel consumption.

In addition, the Rosenblatt Professorship provides support for training future engineers in how to implement sustainable propulsion systems for marine vessels. As well as supporting skill development for graduate students involved in the project, Dr. Kirchen’s research will be used to develop courses for UBC’s master’s level professional programs in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NAME).

This work has the potential to transform greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry, creating a roadmap to adopting more sustainable propulsion for fleets, and providing the technical know-how for future engineers to implement these solutions.

Photo of ship, cranes and dock by Elijah Mears on Unsplash

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