Evidencing the sustainability of Carnot’s hybrid maritime engine
Business challenge
Process Innovation
Sustainability & Net Zero
Sector
Manufacturing
Wind, Maritime & Solar
Hydrogen
Technology or capability
Automation & Robotics
Simulation & Modelling
Helping Carnot Engines prove the sustainability of its hybrid maritime engine
Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) are growing more popular as a way of measuring the environmental impact of a product/service. LCA is not the same as carbon accounting and is generally more complex and means modelling significantly more environmental impacts. The maritime sector is proving challenging to decarbonise particularly for fuels. Carnot Engines have developed a hybrid engine which can be powered by diesel or hydrogen . This revolutionary technology could support a transition towards Net Zero transition as it would allow the maritime sector to transition away from reliance on fossil fuels to hydrogen. Evaluation of the environmental impact of such novel technology in a context of full lifecycle is crucial in ensuring that the manufacturing innovation can drive to overall reduced emission and environmental impact.
The insight gained from working through this process with MTC has been very valuable. We have identified some key safety/ handling and DFA improvements that can be made, saving us figuring this out with physical prototypes and ultimately the time, cost and risk associated with that.
Jeremy Howard-Knight, Head of Business Development, Carnot Ltd
Project Challenges
Carnot Engines wanted to evaluate lifecycle of the novel engine focusing on the impact of material selection, novel manufacturing methods and different end-of-life strategies considered in the innovation cycle.
Further, with multiple fuel options available for use in this application, Carnot wanted to understand impact of different fuels on overall product lifecycle emissions. Some key challenges considered were:
- Exploring environmental hotspots for engine design and manufacture
- Benchmarking use phase emissions for fuel alternatives for Carnot engine based on different production methods
MTC’s Solution
An environmental assessment was carried out by the MTC to determine the environmental impact of Carnot’s hybrid auxiliary engine, benchmarked against a standard diesel system. Analysis of full product life intended for maritime application has been carried out considering current waste management standards and different future end-of-life considerations of key components and the engine as a whole. Further analysis of diesel and hydrogen generated by natural gas, oil, coal and electrolysis of water has been carried out.
The Outcome
The LCA identified key emission hotspots across materials and manufacturing processes, offering clear opportunities to improve engine design and production. By evaluating the engine’s use‑phase impacts across multiple fuel types, the study also highlighted fuel production pathways with the greatest decarbonisation potential. Assessing the maturity of the technology provided further insight into areas where future development could reduce lifecycle emissions. Through this work, Carnot significantly strengthened their understanding of the environmental footprint of their engine. Together, Carnot and the MTC were able to pinpoint critical material and manufacturing hotspots that can inform future design and business decisions. Overall, the LCA quantified impacts across all lifecycle stages, confirming that fuel use remains the dominant contributor to the engine’s total environmental impact.
The ability to evaluate the environmental impact of novel technology in the context of a full lifecycle is crucial in ensuring that the manufacturing innovation can be sustainable and drive to overall reduced emission and environmental impact. At MTC we work towards providing evidence for sustainable technology development.
Dr Justyna Rybicka - Technical Specialist, MTC