Ricardo joins British Ports Association

Ricardo is looking forward to developing its support for the maritime sector after becoming an associate member of the British Ports Association (BPA).

The consultancy’s experts have been working with port owners and operators for decades to help them understand their environmental impacts. Their expertise includes:

• Environmental and sustainability advice to maritime operations.
• Development of environmental modelling and assessment of mitigation scenarios.
• Net-zero strategy and implementation plans.
• Carbon, air quality and energy assessments.
• Marine propulsion technologies.
• Integration of zero carbon propulsion systems.

Tim Scarbrough, Associate Director, said 

Ricardo has expertise in propulsion, policy, fuels, emissions and environment, and applies insights gained from its work on policies for legislators including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union. It has an in-depth understanding of energy infrastructure, from ports to hydrogen generation and have partners in business, academia, NGOs and legislators, giving Ricardo a broad understanding of the key issues facing the sector.

A white paper published by Ricardo last year outlined the barriers the industry faces in achieving decarbonisation.

The consultancy is currently working on a number of maritime projects, including:

• HIMET (Hydrogen in an Integrated Maritime Energy Transition) in Orkney which looks at solutions to decarbonise ferries and in ports. Ricardo is developing the combustion system and engine to convert a natural gas engine to use 100% hydrogen, which will be updated and tested in the consultancy’s purpose-built hydrogen engine test facility. 
• NEPTUNE in the Shetland Islands, which is developing a desk-based decision-modelling support system tool to analyse, scope and develop plans to support the transition to zero carbon fuels in the Shetland Islands.