Tobias Kohl

Tobias studied industrial engineering at Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences. When he joined MTU in 2007, he worked in application engineering on propulsion systems and complex solutions for the yacht industry and subsequently headed the application engineering team. Over the last few years, Tobias has been intensively involved in alternative solutions for reducing the CO2 footprint using alternative energy sources and increasing efficiency through modern propulsion systems such as hybrids and exhaust aftertreatment solutions. Today, he is responsible for global application engineering for the civil marine industry at Rolls-Royce Solutions in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

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Presentation

Protecting the environment without compromising performance – hybrid case study

Liberty Lines operates a fleet of 30 high-speed passenger craft, providing a fast and reliable ferry service for more than three million passengers annually between mainland Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and the Sicilian islands of Egadi, Pantelleria, Pelagie and Ustica, and in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Aeolian islands. In 2021, Liberty Lines embarked on a plan to renew its entire fleet of high-speed ferries while aiming to minimize the environmental impact of its operations. The operations demand the carrying of 250 passengers per ferry at a cruising speed of at least 28kts. Some of the longer crossings are nearly 100 nautical miles, and therefore propulsion solutions based on pure batteries or hydrogen were concluded to be not technically feasible. Liberty Lines contracted for 12 new vessels, the first to obtain RINA Green Plus classification. They will navigate in fully electric mode near ports and will then be able to recharge their batteries in the open sea. During long periods of stopover, the ships will use cold ironing to recharge the batteries and keep all the onboard services active to help lower the CO2 footprint. This presentation will provide a more detailed overview of this exciting project.