ZEVS: enabling Zero Emission passenger Vessel Services

The project “enabling Zero Emission passenger Vessel Services” (ZEVS) kicked off in February 2021. It was initiated when the Norwegian government's Climate Plan for 2021-2030 expressed a desire for low- and zero-emission criteria for high-speed ferries, and was concluded in December 2024, just ahead of the planned introduction of the new environmental requirements. ZEVS aimed to assist the Norwegian authorities in making well-informed decisions for facilitating the green transition, by strengthening the knowledge base regarding zero emission transport solutions and how environmental requirements should be designed to ensure cost-effective operations whilst minimising passenger inconvenience. ZEVS is a Collaborative and Knowledge-building project funded by the Research Council of Norway and stakeholders from the public and private sectors: Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development; Norwegian Coastal Administration; Norwegian Maritime Authority; Norwegian Environment Agency; Viken, Akershus, Rogaland, Møre og Romsdal and Nordland county councils; Ruter; Skyss/Kringom; Brødrene Aa; Statkraft energi; Seam; Pascal technologies and MHTech. The project is managed by Institute of Transport Economics and executed in cooperation with Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Institute for Energy Technology and KU Leuven. As a result of the efforts of the researchers and students associated with the project, ZEVS has reached its scientific objectives. At time of project end, the project has contributed to 3 doctoral and 5 master theses and published 10 scientific works. In addition, the project has produced several reports, popular science works and conference contributions. More information about them is available at https://www.toi.no/zevs, https://app.cristin.no/projects/show.jsf?id=2560947 and https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/project/FORISS/320659. ZEVS has contributed to a better understanding of the technical and economic feasibility of zero-emission solutions for selected ferry routes specifically and for the regions more broadly. The project has developed tools for energy and emissions calculation, optimisation of energy infrastructure and transport services, and visualisation of route data. ZEVS has also conducted case studies for selected ferry routes and has discussed the financing of counties' additional costs associated with the transition to zero-emission technology. The project's calculations of energy consumption and emissions from current high-speed ferry routes are available under https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3eddefc5dd474735895e25e52b72b800 while information about a software developed as part of the research in ZEVS can be found at https://www.ntnu.edu/imt/software/fastships.

ZEVS er tilpasset kunnskapsbehovet knyttet til myndighetenes planer for nullutslippstransport, og prosjektets sluttrapport gir sammen med prosjektets web-verktøy en transparent oppsummering av kunnskapsstatusen om nullutslippshurtigbåter. Ved prosjekts avslutning har myndighetene utsatt innføringen av nullutslippskravet til hurtigbåtene, men kravet er stadig aktuelt i forbindelse med Norges forpliktelser under Parisavtalen. Funnene fra ZEVS er dermed høyst relevant som kunnskapsgrunnlag for den videre utviklingen av Norges miljøpolitikk. Prosjektet er gjennomført i partnerskap med sentrale brukere, herunder lokale og sentrale myndigheter og industrien. Dette har sikret god informasjonsflyt mellom prosjektet og dets nøkkelbrukere gjennom prosjektperioden. Flere av oppgavene i prosjektet har vært gjennomført for å utvikle resultater eller verktøyer som kan anvendes av brukerne ved prosjektslutt. Prosjektet har også gjort dybdeanalyser av konkrete samband som kan benyttes av de aktuelle fylkene i deres videre planlegging av utslippsreduksjoner i eksisterende hurtigbåtsamband. Forskningssektoren vil dra nytte av resultater fra ZEVS, som allerede har hatt en betydelig produksjon av fagfellevurderte arbeider innenfor ulike fagfelt ved sin avslutning. Prosjektet har også utviklet verktøy som kan tas i bruk og/eller videreutvikles i senere prosjekter, som NTNUs software FASTSHIPS for simulering av hurtiggående fartøy. Disse arbeidene har gitt ny innsikt på et område hvor det tidligere har vært få vitenskapelige studier.

Passenger vessels are a common part of the coastal transport system, with around 100 services in Norway today. Despite the goal from the Norwegian government for fossil free public transport by 2025, all passenger vessels currently use marine gas oil. Coupled with low passenger numbers, this makes them one of the most emission intensive (as well as costliest) modes of public transport per passenger kilometre. While there is a growing literature on the diffusion of zero emission vehicles, corresponding maritime studies are more scarce and broadly comprise sectoral outlooks or concrete case studies. To address this research gap, ZEVS is an interdisciplinary project that will create new knowledge and expertise to support fossil free high-speed passenger vessel uptake and foster a more sustainable transport system. Key project outcomes are mapping of the technical and economic feasibility of zero emission passenger vessels that will be made available to policy makers and public bodies through an interactive toolbox, a suite of open-access models for feasibility evaluation and a roadmap of politically and business feasible solutions for successful implementation. These will be achieved via an innovative project design combining top-down and bottom-up analysis, iterative studies and case selection based on stratified sampling to understand the technical, economic, and political feasibility of these vessels at national level. The core team comprises of interdisciplinary experts with complementary competences from research institutes and academia, supported by user partners in central and regional government, public agencies, and the energy and ship-building industry. All aspects of ZEVS will make distinct contributions to state-of-the-art knowledge and scientific literature in the field. Since contracts in several counties with currently employed ferry operators expire in 2021-2024, this is an ideal time for the much needed competence that ZEVS will provide.