01. About us
Partners
KU | KLAIPEDOS UNIVERSITETAS
KLAIPEDA UNIVERSITY main role in REFEST: Coordinator of the project and WP8 – Project Management – leader.
KU, Research & Technogy Organization (RTO) in the project, is a key specialist in hydrodynamics, applied to hull design, both from numerical and experimental perspectives.
Main activities: KU will manage the project management (WP8) and will be involved in WP1, WP2, WP3 as leader of the following tasks: T1.1 Requirements definition of selected fishing; T1.2 Initial estimation of technical, environmental, economic, and social aspects of proposed REFEST’s solutions; T2.1 Design (including hydrodynamic and mechanicalsimulations) of proposed hull appendage; T2.2 Standardization and modularization of the appendage’s designs; T3.5 Mechanical design for batteries for cold weathers Leader. Related to WP8, KU will lead Task 8.1. Project`s activity coordination & Efficient Resources management, Task 8.2. Risk Management, Task 8.3. Coordination with and Reporting to the EC.
AIMPLAS | ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE MATERIALES PLASTICOS Y CONEXAS
AIMPLAS main role in REFEST: leader of Task 2.3 Composites for hull appendages; Task 2.5 Integration of sensors in composites; Task 3.6 Composites for battery box; Task 5.5 Decommissioning, and recycling techniques of the retrofit solutions.
AIMPLAS, as an RTO in the project, has a broad expertise in the fields of plastics materials (thermoplastics thermosets and composites) and their processability, plastics and composites recycling, special assisted processing technologies (microwaves, supercritical CO2), materials for additive manufacturing, high performance coatings, polymer nanocomposites, multilayer structures and development of plastic products for a broad range of industrial sectors.
Main activities: development of novel thermoplastic composites for the hull appendages and the battery box of the vessel. This role can be showed at WP2 according to Task 2.3 and 2.5 where AIMPLAS will develop advance thermoplastic composites using a modified acrylic resin in order to improve sea water resistance, reduce foiling and reach a great fiber-matrix interface properties. Sensor integration will be worked in task 2.5 with embedding systems in composite panels. AIMPLAS will also lead the materials developments for the battery box manufacturing. Long fiber thermoplastic composites will be developed, and fireproof resistance, electromagnetic shielding and thermal insulation will be achieved at Task 3.6 of WP3. Activities of mechanical recycling evaluation of the materials will be studied at Task 5.5 of WP5. Moreover, toxicological studies will be worked assessing the human health and environmental hazards of the substances release during life cycles stages of the products.
RISE | RESEARCH INSTITUTES OF SWEDEN AB
RISE main role in REFEST: leader of Task 4.3 Air lubrication method & simulation; Task 4.4. Air lubrication system component; Task 4.5 Standardization & modularization of the air-lubrication designs.
RISE, as an RTO in the project, is a dedicated partner that offers a wide range of maritime services, including ship design, energy optimisation, finding the most effective ways to interact with other types of transportation, and conducting maritime infrastructure studies together with safety and environmental risk assessments. Moreover, sensor and hydroacoustic transponder expertise will be brought to the project.
Main activities: leading and developming activities related to WP4, especially Hydrodynamic design and simulation; Hull Appendage design; Air Lubrication system design; Modularization of ALS and retrofit; and also Electric sensors on/ into hull appendage – strain/friction, marine biofouling and Underwater hydroacoustic detection of lost fishing gear.
MIR
MIR main role in REFEST: WP1 – Retrofit requirements of selected fishing vessels. Impact assessment on marine environment & its biodiversity – leader.
MIR, as an RTO in the project, is specialised in fisheries economy, fleet effectiveness, value chain optimisation, socio-environmental research, stakeholders’ involvement and research of biodiversity awareness.
Main activities: MIR will lead T1.3 Impact assessment of on Baltic & North Sea marine environment & biodiversity of REFEST’s solutions.
NEXTHORIZON
NXH main role in REFEST: leader of Task 3.7 Optimization of current flexible PV panels for their integration in ships; Task 5.2. Scale-up the manufacture of batteries, FPV panels and RIM engines.
NXH, as a SME in the project, is a French company specialized in the design and manufacture of flexible solar panels using mainly silicon cells.
Main Activities: in task 3.7, NHX will integrate specific flexible PV modules on ships and develop a contactless power collection process, avoiding risks of connectors corrosion. In task 5.2, NXH will scale-up the manufacture of batteries, flexible PV modules and RIM engines.
BLUENAV
BLUENAV main role in REFEST: WP4 – Hybrid Engine, Eco-driving & air lubrication Solutions – leader.
BLUENAV, as a SME in the project, is the first French manufacturer of hybrid and electric propulsion for boats.
Main activities: BlueNav will lead Task 4.1. Eco-driving solutions with Partner Elkon; Task 4.2. RIM engine power improvement and localization based on the synergies with hull’s appendages and air lubrication.
EAS
EAS main role in REFEST: Battery experts for customized maritime Li Ion battery solutions
EAS, as a SME in the project, is a German company that design and assemble lithium batteries for electromobility. They offer complete solutions for the implementation of lithium-based storage technology for several transport vehicles. Main activites: EAS will lead Task 3.3. Selection of battery cells for cold weathers and Task 3.4 Electrical Model (including BMS selection) for batteries in cold weather, focusing on battery cell selection for cold weather conditions; electrical model for batteries in cold weather conditions ; mechnical design for batteries for cold weather conditions ; battery pack assembly .
CALSENS
CALSENS main role in REFEST: WP2 – Simulation & design of Hull appendages. Sensors’ Integration – leader.
CALSENS, as a SME in the project, is a Spanish company specializes in structure monitoring services using optical sensors and developing optical sensors for different applications. For example, FBG optical sensors for deformation measurement in civil engineering, to sensors for extreme temperature capturing in the aerospace field.
Main activities: leader of Task 2.4 Multi-sensor device based on fibre-optic. In this task CALSENS will develop novel sensors based on the high density of measurements possible in MCF, including multiparametric measurement of strain and temperature, shape reconstruction and experimental design of a liquid density sensor that can be used for buoyancy estimation. CALSENS will work also in the integration of these optical fibers into the composites material that will be employed for hull appendage design, in close collaboration with AIMPLAS for the integration and other partners for the evaluation and testing. CALSENS will also participate in all the WP and Tasks related to the validation of the sensor capacities including the required optical interrogation and data acquisition for the different measured magnitudes, also performing the data processing tasks required. Finally, CALSENS will collaborate in all definition tasks in order to contribute with the specifications and requirements of the sensors, and in communications task, helping in the dissemination tasks and the evaluation of the viability of the solutions.
RINA-C
RINA main role in REFEST: WP6 – Environmental, economic, social, & regulatory gap assessment – leader.
RINA-C, as a large company in the project, is a primary engineering company in Italy with large expertise in LCA and S-LCA, part of RINA, one of the top 10 world classification societies.
Main activities: contribution to the Environmental, Social, Economic and Safety assessment of the solutions developed. Leader oft he following tasks related to WP6: T6.1. Product life-cycle-assessment (LCA) & Life Cost analysis (LCC); T6.2. Social Analysis (s-LCA); T6.3. Safety asp; T6.4 Regulatory gap assessment. Leader of Task 7.4 Policy recommendations related tot he support in the WP7.
ELKON
ELKON main role in REFEST: WP3 – Battery packs, PV panels, electrical power management – leader.
ELKON, as a large company in the project, is a large electrical system integrator company in Turkey focus on new and retrofit ships. ELKON design, manufacture, integrate and commission low-voltage electrical equipment and automation systems for the maritime industry. ELKON is an international and global brand and has an engineering and production centre in Turkey, and the operation area in the whole of Europe.
Main activities: Elkon will lead Task 3.1 Fishing Ship Energy Efficiency on Electrical Architecture; Task 3.2. Data Driven PMS & EMS development; Task 7.3. Knowledge Management, IPR protection and Innovation Policy.
ENCO
ENCO main role in REFEST: leader of Task 7.2. Exploitation Strategy, commercial assessment, and business plan; Task 7.5 Data management
ENCO, as a SME in the project, is an independent Innovation SME providing insightful, timely and focused technical services and research on Engineering solutions, grouped with Business oriented services.
Main activities: Enco will support the WP7 leader, LFPA, in the correct and efficient managament of the project communication and dissemination startegy, exploitation and business model plan, IPR protection, data and knowledge management, networking with other projects.
TUCO
TUCO main role in REFEST: WP5 – Retrofit solutions scale-up and integration in fishing vessels – leader.
TUCO, as a SME in the project, is a shipyard and shipowner in Denmark with custom-built ships, but also repairs, maintenance and all kinds of different jobs in ship retrofit and specialist in production of composite parts by infusion.
Main activities: TUCO will coordinate and follow up on tasks, deliverables and milestones in WP5 with all involved partners. Leader of Task 5.1. Scale-up the production of required components to manufacture the hull appendages, battery housing and air lubrication where, Tuco will manufacture the moduls to produce the hull appendages and battery cover by infusion process according with the best design developed in WP2 and WP3. Leader of Task 5.3. Ships retrofitting by integration of REFEST’s solutions according of each fishing ship requirements, Tuco will retrofit one out of the three vessels with the chosen retrofit equipment. Leader of Task 5.4. Technology certification and real validation in sea conditions, Tuco will take lead on the certification of the three vessels pretesting in cooperation with the other two partners involved in retrofitting. After this, validation tests will be executed and the result will be evaluated and future improvements will be elaborated.
LFPA
LFPA main role in REFEST: WP7 – Dissemination, Communication, Exploitation, Market Validation, Standards, Training & Skills Assessment – leader.
LFPA, as a fishing Association in the project, represented fishermen fishing in the Baltic Sea and their coasts for more than 20 years and their members own about 30 fishing vessels.
Main activities: during this project one LFPA fishing vessel will modernize. Leader of Task 7.1. Dissemination and Communication strategy and project branding and Task 7.6 Liaison and Clustering with other projects, networks, and Missions, with the support of the experienced Partner ENCO.
GEMI
GEMI main role in REFEST: support projetc partners in the implementation activities of WP2, WP4, WP5.
GEMI, as a SME in the project, is a Norwegian company that produces and retrofit rugged aluminium boats for the fishing sector. The construction and design are based on years of experience and thoroughly testing along the Norwegian coastline under harsh conditions.
Main activities: Gemi will support the implementation of Task 2.1 Design (including hydrodynamic and mechanical simulations) of proposed hull appendages; Task 2.2 Standardization and modularization of the appendage’s designs; Task 4.2. RIM engine power improvement and localization based on the synergies with hull’s appendages and air lubrication. In WP5, will support the activities of Task 5.3. Ships retrofitting by integration of REFEST’s solutions according of each fishing ship requirements and Task 5.4. Technology certification and real validation in sea conditions. Together with LFPA and TUCO, will retrofit one of their ships to reduce their current GHG emissions up to 40%.