Wärtsilä will bring water & waste systems into shipping’s digital age

Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade press release 5 June 2019 at 13:00 UTC+2

At this year’s Nor-Shipping conference and exhibition, the technology group Wärtsilä will be highlighting its development work on a smart concept for onboard water and waste systems. The work involves combining the latest environmental technology and process expertise with real-time data collection and digital modelling. This is made possible by Wärtsilä having the marine industry’s most extensive portfolio of waste and water treatment solutions, and a unique offering in digital tools such as data collection units and route planning.

“Wärtsilä continues to be ahead of the curve in adapting digital technology and connectivity to deliver solutions to the marine industry that are more efficient, safer, and environmentally sustainable. Our development work with this smart water and waste treatment system represents a key component within the Smart Marine Ecosystem that will ensure a successful future for our customers,” says Arto Lehtinen, Director, Water & Waste, Wärtsilä Marine.

The envisioned system leverages Wärtsilä’s in-house competences in data-driven design and process optimisation, to create a smart approach to handling a ship’s waste. This will deliver notable advantages over conventional treatment systems, since human error that can result in illegal discharges, will be eliminated.

The concept promises to change the industry’s approach to waste and water treatment, thereby opening up opportunities for new business models. The primary benefits are anticipated as being the enablement of trouble-free operation, full regulatory compliance, valuable cost savings resulting from the higher level of efficiency attained, and the lack of harmful impact on the marine environment. The inclusion of remote monitoring of the systems will enable operational improvements based on real-time facts validated against a digital twin of the system. Initial studies show that when linking water and waste operation to route planning the potential reductions in energy consumption could be as much as 25 percent.

With its capabilities in simulating, modelling and designing complete solutions from the ground up, Wärtsilä aims to create a holistic integrated system with all the elements designed to work and interface seamlessly together. This will deliver cost and energy efficiencies, and will save on physical space requirements. System reporting will be automatically generated, and in line with local and international port regulations. The development project is ongoing and involves close cooperation with customers.

Further information on the concept will be available from the Wärtsilä stand, number DO3-40, at Nor-Shipping.

Media contacts:

Mr Konstantin Tchetchine
General Manager, Business Development, Water & Waste
Wärtsilä Marine
Tel: +358 50 5142170

konstantin.tchetchine@wartsila.com

Ms Marit Holmlund-Sund
General Manager, Positioning, Marine Business Marketing
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358 10 709 1439

marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com  

Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2018, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com