Developments and competencies
Ship development and hydrodynamics under shallow water conditions have been among DST’s core tasks and competencies from the very beginning. So far, questions such as the development of standardised ship types, resistance optimisation and improvement of energy efficiency or the size development of ships have played a central role. In addition, questions of transport and logistics and the integration of Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) into intermodal transport chains came along. DST has been successfully facing these tasks for around 70 years in an interdisciplinary and committed team.
Challenges and Research Priorities
However, IWT and society are currently facing enormous challenges: climate change and the energy transition require a decarbonisation of propulsion systems as well as innovative concepts for adjusting ships to lower water levels. At the same time, the demand for renewable, sustainably generated energy, e. g. in the form of offshore wind energy, is increasing. The shortage of nautical personnel as well as changing market and demand structures lead to strong cost pressure and high competition also compared to road transport and require comprehensive automation. These developments outline the framework conditions that IWT and logistics have to face. At the same time, they mark the cornerstones of DST’s current research priorities.
The ambition hardly could be larger: after existing approaches and technologies, such as diesel propulsion, hydrodynamics or the size development of ships, have been optimised for around half a century, now within a few decades practically the entire fleet must be converted to renewable energies, designed to be suitable for low water levels and the automation of both navigation and the entire transport chains has to be realised. At the same time, the preconditions for a safe and reliable provision of the necessary “green”, sustainably produced energy must be created. In fact, this transformation process is an unprecedented challenge; it is tantamount to a complete system and paradigm change in several disciplines.
Holistic approaches
Against this background, increasingly complex tasks more and more frequently require holistic approaches: For example, ship-technical concepts for low-water adaptation usually go hand in hand with corresponding propulsion concepts. At the same time, the automation and digitization of both the work on board and the entire transport chain, including handling, port activities and landside processes, is progressing continuously. This results in the demand for integrated solutions which combine the research fields ship technology, propulsion concepts, automation and logistics.
In this context, efficient and professional research aims to develop innovative and at the same time safe, reliable and competitive solutions in close dialogue with sector and administration, to contribute to the further development of the legal framework and thus to create the conditions for the necessary innovation and transformation process.
DST substantially wants to contribute to this with its activities: The application-oriented research comprises national projects at federal and federal state level as well as international projects at European level.
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