The new accolade, launched to showcase breakthrough innovations on show at Nor-Shipping, was awarded in front of an audience of 1000 C-level executives at Nor-Shipping’s Open Leadership Conference.
Nor-Shipping 2022, Your Arena for Ocean Solutions, has an overall theme of taking positive business #ACTION in the ocean space, paving the way for a more sustainable industry future. Daphne Technology – which won for an innovation that simultaneously reduces all toxic and climate pollutant emissions for ships powered by heavy/residual fuel, LNG, and future fuels – was seen to epitomise this mission.
A statement from the award’s jury noted: “After a very animated selection meeting, the jury decided that the winning candidate had demonstrated a new and highly innovative solution for not one but several issues that shipping must cope with. While regulators may sometimes take a piecemeal approach to a subject such as shipping emissions, with each solution posing more problems as new requirements are added, the winning candidate has clearly looked at the issue and combined existing and future requirements into a single innovation.
“The achievement was all the more remarkable since Daphne Technology has moved from a start-up to a well-backed organisation in a very short time. Daphne Technology was launched as a spin-off from The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne in 2017. The company maintains strong ties with the university and continues to leverage its research, contacts and network of partners.”
In securing the title, Daphne Technology triumphed against strong competition from a shortlist featuring Jotun, for its Hullskater hull cleaning system, HASYTEC Group Germany/ Alesund Maritime, for an ultra-sonic anti-fouling system, and Wavefoil, for a retractable bow foil which reduces fuel consumption and increases comfort.
