A Life-Cycle Cost Framework for Onboard Emission Reduction Technologies: The Case of the Flapping-Foil Thruster Propulsion Innovation

To deal with the decarbonization challenge in an efficient way in terms of cost-effectiveness, reliability and feasibility for newbuilding and retrofit solutions in maritime industry, Seatech H2020 project develops a flapping-foil thruster propulsion innovation, together with a dual-fuel engine innovation to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. The focus of this study is on the foil thruster, which is arranged at the bow and slightly in front of the ship, and it utilises the energy from wave-induced motions by converting it into thrust. For such innovations, a clear picture of its economic impacts facilitates their adoption. Thus, to deal with the economic aspects, from a life cycle perspective, the paper introduces a life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) framework, which includes all four phases of the system’s life cycle; construction, operation, maintenance and end-of-life. In the context of the developed framework, the initial challenge for the LCCA exercise is to fully define the design details of the system, which will facilitate the cost approximation, mainly for construction, maintenance and end-of-life phases. The results from the materialisation of the LCCA provide significant insight with respect to the lifecycle costs and may support the decision-making process for newbuilding and retrofitting investments.