European shipyards are increasingly focusing on sustainability as they navigate the challenges of modern shipbuilding. A new EU-funded initiative aims to assist these shipyards in cutting costs and enhancing their environmental practices through innovative digital tools and improved tracking systems.
European shipyards: Innovative Solutions for Shipbuilding
In September 2026, naval architect Thomas Koch will showcase his firm’s virtual shipyard at a maritime trade fair in Hamburg, Germany. This digital replica is designed to monitor shipbuilding progress in real-time while suggesting improvements that can save both money and energy. As competition intensifies, especially from major players in China, Japan, and South Korea, European shipyards must leverage such technologies to remain relevant.
Shifting Focus in Shipbuilding
Over the past three decades, many large docks across Europe have closed, leading to a significant shift in the industry. European shipyards now primarily concentrate on specialised high-value vessels, including cruise ships, coastal ferries, yachts, icebreakers, and offshore engineering vessels. This change has allowed them to carve out unique niches and explore new technologies aimed at reducing emissions and fuel consumption.
Green Technologies as a Competitive Edge
“Europe can gain an edge in global shipping by adopting new clean technologies,” stated Koch, founder of Atlantec Enterprise Solutions, which provides IT solutions for the maritime sector. Together with a team of researchers, Koch is addressing some industry challenges through the EU-funded project known as ESY. This initiative combines renewable energy, digital advancements, and material tracking systems to enhance sustainability.
Understanding the Environmental Impact
The ESY project not only assesses emissions from ships while at sea but also evaluates the environmental footprints of shipyards. This includes monitoring energy consumption, material usage, and waste production. Koch estimates that incorporating assisted wind power could reduce fuel usage by 20 to 30 per cent, leading to significant cost savings and lower emissions for operators.
The Cost of Labour in Shipbuilding
Labour costs in shipbuilding can account for up to 70 per cent of total expenses, making European operations more costly compared to other regions. Unlike car manufacturing, where identical models are produced in large quantities, shipbuilding often involves creating bespoke vessels with limited automation. Many small and medium-sized shipyards in Europe operate independently, lacking the economies of scale enjoyed by larger competitors.
A Historic Shift in Support for Shipbuilding
For decades, the shipbuilding sector in Europe was regarded as a sunset industry, receiving minimal government or EU support, particularly between the 1970s and early 2000s. This trend may be changing. In March 2026, the European Commission introduced a new Industrial Maritime Strategy aimed at revitalising Europe’s manufacturing and shipping industries. The ESY project aligns with these objectives, focusing on improving the competitiveness of European shipbuilders through enhanced monitoring tools and sustainable practices.
Enhancing Efficiency with Digital Tools
“Our main focus is to try to improve the competitiveness of the European shipbuilding industry by providing tools to monitor their processes and improve their environmental footprint,” explained Panos Evangelou, a naval economist at the National Technical University of Athens, who is also part of the ESY initiative. The goal is to equip shipyards with digital solutions that identify energy and material waste, thereby enabling them to implement cost-cutting measures.
Introducing the Material Passport
One of the innovative solutions being piloted is an EU material passport designed to track materials from production to ship decommissioning. This digital logbook will detail which materials are used in each vessel, their sources, and applications, facilitating easier repairs, reuse, or recycling later in the ship’s lifecycle.
Reducing Waste through Efficient Practices
“There’s often lots of waste throughout shipbuilding,” noted Lyridis. “By tracking how much waste you have, you can redesign, for example, the way you cut steel in a more efficient manner.” This approach aims to optimise material usage, conserve energy, cut costs, and elevate industry standards.
Demonstrating Practical Applications
At Astilleros de Santander, a historic shipyard in the Bay of Biscay, a steel cutting process was retrofitted to utilise less energy, effectively reducing both costs and emissions. This setup will also serve as a testing ground for the material passport and other ESY tools in an operational shipyard environment.
Benchmarking Environmental Performance
The ESY team is developing an environmental performance index for shipyards, which will quantify energy consumption, waste, and emissions into a single score. This benchmarking tool will allow shipyards to track improvements over time and compare different projects or locations, thereby identifying more economical and energy-efficient practices.
The Future of Sustainable Shipping
The trend towards greener industrial processes in shipping could yield competitive advantages. “Financing for shipping is easier if you have a greener profile, and now cargo owners are requesting ships that are environmentally friendly,” said Lyridis, highlighting the increasing regulatory focus on emissions and operational standards.
Strategic Importance of Shipbuilding
Professor Marc Bonazountas from Epsilon Group emphasised the necessity for Europe to maintain a robust shipbuilding industry. “The dominant countries that govern the world are those that dominate the seas. For that, you must have shipyards,” he stated, underscoring the strategic imperative for Europe to bolster its maritime capabilities amidst rising global competition.
Looking Ahead
As Europe navigates its shipbuilding revival, Koch, Lyridis, and their colleagues aim to validate the effectiveness of tools like the material passport and performance index within busy shipyards. Their objective is clear: to demonstrate that sustainable practices can not only enhance environmental performance but also secure the future of Europe’s shipbuilding industry.
