Danish marine tech company Frugal Technologies is upgrading its class-approved Frugal Propulsion, described as a cost, fuel-, and emissions-saving system for large vessels, to now include temperature, pressure and vibration deviations, helping engineers and shipowners make smarter decisions.
With an AI-based control system, Frugal Technologies has helped shipping companies such as Uni-Tankers, Christiania Shipping and Royal Arctic Line reduce fuel consumption and emissions on their ships by up to 15%. Frugal Technologies’ latest software upgrade allows shipowners and engineers to better evaluate equipment health and service lifetimes.
The Frugal Propulsion system provides ship owners and technicians with information on engine performance, emissions, and hull efficiency using IoT technology, big data, learning algorithms and data visualisation. With the software upgrade, the system uses historical data to comprehend and contrast the engine’s current condition with its initial state. In this sense, the data begins to function as an advisory, offering actionable insights that allow engineers and ship owners to foresee possible problems before they become critical.
Lars Stoustrup, CTO and co-founder, Frugal Technologies said: “With the launch of this major upgrade, we’re not just collecting data and showing it to customers. We’re actively using it to evaluate performance so ship owners can make better and more informed decisions. Our AI models are trained based on data isolated to the engine, hull, and propeller. This enables better management and prioritisation of the fleet and future costs based on hull performance, hull cleaning, engine overhaul, and shaft power evaluation.”
Alongside the Frugal Propulsion system, the company offers the fleet operations platform My Data, which provides shipowners with a simple interface solution for vessel data visualisation and AIS information, including predictive maintenance targeted at operations. Additionally, future features will be available for onboard use.
The new algorithms can detect abnormalities in operating parameters and distinguish between regular operation and anomalies by analysing data patterns derived from sensors on the ship’s engines.
Peter Hauschildt, CEO and co-founder, Frugal Technologies said: “Predictive maintenance is becoming more and more crucial in the maritime industry. Our new software release will be a valuable tool for maintenance and savings, not only for shipowners, but also for the technical department, as it provides better opportunities for timely intervention.”.
In 2023, Frugal Technologies welcomed global automation technology leader Emerson as a strategic investor. With expertise from more than 60 years as a recognised provider of technologies and services for the marine industry, Emerson has brought in strong international resources to accelerate sales, installation, and service worldwide.
Hauschildt said: “Partnering with Emerson has really helped us speed up the commercial development of our company, allowing us to further increase investments in products and services. Going forward, we will continue to refine our AI models in our efforts to provide the most accurate and reliable insights for enhancing fleet operations.”
Since early 2023, Frugal Propulsion has been approved as an ‘Overridable Power Limitation System (Electronic)’ for EEXI compliance by LR and BV.
Image: Frugal Propulsion ‘saving potential’ screen (credit: Frugal Technologies)
