Interdisciplinary Project: Circularity in Maritime Shipping
Interdisciplinary Project: Circularity in Maritime Shipping: Carbon, Nitrogen and Hydrogen Cycles for Sustainable Fuels
For students in M.Sc. Circular Engineering and Economy, we offer the seminar “Interdisciplinary Project”. Thematic focus for the coming winter term 2026/27 and summer term 2027: Circularity in Maritime Shipping.
Winter 2026/27 & Summer 2027
Content and aim of the interdisciplinary project:
Circularity in the maritime shipping sector is currently focused on recycling or retrofitting of retired vessels.
However, fuel usage accounts for around 90 – 95% of the greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand. This raises the question of how circularity of the resources used during vessel operation can contribute to the defossilization of maritime shipping. Renewable fuels create new possibilities for closing material cycles, particularly for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Both can be obtained from primary or secondary sources, converted into fuels, used on board, emitted, recovered, and potentially recirculated, with the atmosphere acting as a buffer. Understanding these flows is important for assessing the role of circularity in future defossilized maritime energy systems. It remains unclear which fuel and cycle is most advantageous, with different options targeted at different shipping segments. Nevertheless, regulatory fuel mandates by the European Union are already in place to support defossilization solutions economically.
Central research question:
How can circularity of carbon and nitrogen contribute to the defossilization of maritime shipping, and which circularity pathways are the most advantageous for the maritime shipping sector (in terms of economics, sustainability, etc.), contemplating the complete recirculation cycle, infrastructure implications and policy adaptations?
In the interdisciplinary project, students will work in groups to stigate the circularity of carbon and nitrogen in renewable fuel systems for maritime shipping. They identify relevant C and N flows on individual energy system to international value chain level and explore opportunities for closing these cycles. Students can draw on methods such as material flow analysis, LCA/social LCA, mass and energy balances, circularity indicators, and techno-economic analysis, complemented where useful by modelling or optimization methods.
Link to further information: RWTHOnline
Target group and requirements:
- Target group: Master CEE
- Language of instruction: English
Organizational Information:
- 10 CP
- Winter & summer term
Contact:
Stephan Bogs