Department

Ship Integration

Ships are among the most complex results of human engineering, they operate under extreme environmental conditions and their failure can lead to the loss of human life and a significant impact on the environment. The Ship Integration department therefore set the following goals:

  • ships can be optimally integrated into transport chains, making transport systems more sustainable and economical overall. This also includes the transport of new, CO2-free energy sources via lakes and rivers
  • Integrating innovative technical solutions, particularly in the energy sector, into the function and space of the overall ship system in such a way that the ship can be built and operated in an environmentally friendly, safe and efficient manner
  • To develop knowledge, methods and processes that will enable the industry to design, build, maintain and repair ships with increasingly complex requirements in the future, to convert them and to recycle them at the end of their lives

The department deals with various digital tools for different integration tasks and is involved in various DLR-internal, national and European projects. Through collaboration with industry, research work is aligned with practical needs and the possibilities and skills of employees are expanded.

Projects

Research project

MaTroSe

The vast majority of ships are currently powered by oil-based fuels and there is no clear path to decarbonisation. In the MaTroSe project, the Institute of Maritime Energy Systems is developing a roadmap for the energy transition in shipping on the North and Baltic Seas.

Research project

Sustainable, circular and efficient shipbuilding processes

EcoShipYard aims to develop consistent and comprehensive evaluation methods and tools to assess the circularity and environmental impact of each stage of a ship's life cycle.

Research project

RISAR

The RISAR project is developing a novel software application for preliminary parametric design, integration, and risk assessment of ship energy systems powered by alternative fuels. The purpose of the software application is to make it possible for designers to assess the feasibility, merits, and risks of different design alternatives.

Contact

Martin Bergström

Head of Department
German Aerospace Center
Institute of Maritime Energy Systems
Ship Integration
Düneberger Str. 108, 21502 Geesthacht
Germany