MARINE EDGE Makes Waves at COP29, Cutting Ship Emissions by up to 15%
Jerusalem, 30 November, 2024 (TPS) -- Jerusalem, 30 November, 2024 (TPS) – For Amichay Gross, co-founder and executive chairman of MARINE EDGE, attending the COP29 climate conference in Baku was a very positive experience.
“One of the things we witnessed is how much support the people from those countries have for Israel and how much they believe in our cause and the benefit we bring to the world, even though we don’t always hear that from world leaders,” Gross told the Press Service of Israel.
“There was a lot of traffic from all around the world, including people from Turkey, Egypt, and other countries that you would think might hesitate to approach Israelis, but they didn’t, and it was wonderful,” Gross continued.
Another likely reason for the global enthusiasm for MARINE EDGE, one of 20 select Israeli climate-tech companies chosen to showcase Israeli innovation at COP29 on the world stage, is their technological innovation.
“Our technology aims to reduce the amount of fuel that cargo ships burn and the amount of CO2 they emit,” Gross said.
The overall effect would be significantly less fuel burned during shipping, a smaller carbon footprint, and lower operating costs for shipping companies.
“All the merchant ships in the world, and there are over 80,000 of them, emit more than a billion tons of CO2 each year. That means saving even 1/10 of that is significant.”
That is where the technology of the Haifa-based startup comes into play. Their innovation, a Machine Learning-based regenerative power managing mechanism, can be fitted onto ships, resulting in “up to 15% reduction of fuel consumption per mile,” Gross told TPS-IL.
How it Works
“Big diesel engines on ships are pretty efficient,” Gross explained. “The only things that curb that efficiency are load variations, which for ships are primarily caused by waves.”
The increasing and decreasing load, or strain on ship engines from waves, causes them to not operate continuously at peak efficiency, burning more fuel. “We want to flatten loads so that the main engine can operate at peak efficiency at all times,” Gross explained.
To accomplish this, MARINE EDGE adds its sensor near the ship’s propellor and analyzes the variation in loads that the propeller exerts due to wave patterns. The electric motor then adds either power or load, with the adjustment based on the waves to ensure the strain on the engine is unchanged.
Looking to the Future
Following COP29, Gross has high hopes for what the future holds for MARINE EDGE.
“The connections we made there are very beneficial for us. We met several investors and spoke with government officials from countries that we have interests in… We spoke to executives from companies that we may wish to collaborate with and other individuals who we may work with in the future,” Gross explained.
The plan now is to get ready to enter the market.
“We’re working on installing our first system on a ship, which we expect to be ready next year,” Gross told TPS-IL.
“Our goal for next year is to start taking orders,” Gross concluded.