Projects

The island ferry traffic forms a unique transport area in the Central Baltic region, as ferry connections between mainland and islands are an important part of the intermodal transport chain linking islands to urban centres. Through piloting CO2 abatement technologies and methods the REISFER project aims to improve the transport areas and intermodal transport nodes by reducing the CO2 emissions of the island ferry traffic in Estonia, Finland and Sweden by 10 - 20%.

The BALTIC-FIT project will build a network of excellence between organizations from Baltic Sea Region (Estonia as a Widening country, Finland and Sweden) to enable Baltic Sea maritime transport meet ‘Fit for 55’ regulations in decarbonisation. The BALTIC-FIT will achieve this goal by implementing a three-year Innovation strategy comprising five objectives, which are focused on strengthening the TTU’s position in the field of maritime decarbonization. This strategy includes short-term staff exchanges of senior and young researchers, 3 thematic summer schools; organization of innovation workshops for industrial and maritime stakeholders; attendance of external events; publication of joint open-access research articles and professional articles. To strengthen the research management skills of TTU, a specific work package integrates a comprehensive approach including (1) multi-hour mentoring programme focused on preparation of Horizon Europe proposals and (2) training workshops on proposal writing, research management, project administration, research dissemination and communication and IP management. In the frame of the joint innovation project the partners will concentrate efforts on the decarbonization of the shipping in Baltic Sea region, which has specific constraints in terms of operations, and will deliver recommendations for authorities and private business companies on how to tackle the pressing issue of decarbonisation. The authorities will have more understanding the opportunities that business sector has in GHG-emission reduction and private sector will learn about operational (TTU), technical (VTT) and digital (RISE) aspects of shipping. By enhancing collaboration between Baltic maritime stakeholders, BALTIC-FIT will cultivate a comprehensive understanding of the sustainable maritime practices, guiding the region towards environmental sustainability aligned with “Fit for 55' package and contributing to the success of the European Green Deal.

In Europe, many archipelagos and inland waterways can be found. The use of such waterways for the airborne transportation of both goods and persons has huge potential, and in many cases is the only possible way. In this cases, the transportation of goods and persons by airplanes or ships has many drawbacks. The first have the problem of cost and environmental impact, while the second, while allowing larger payloads, have the drawback of limited speed. Additionally, both are extremely low energy efficient at high speed. AIRSHIP envisions an innovative use of a known transportation mean: flying ships. Such vehicles (also known as ekranoplans or wing in-ground - WIG- vehicles) are designed and built to take advantage of the ground effect, that allows these crafts to fly with enhanced lift and reduced drag. WIGS inherit all the advantages of conventional airborne transportation, while being more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, both from the carbon footprint and the acoustic noise pollution point of view. AIRSHIP will study and develop new technologies in zero-emission power, on-boar AI and in automatic flight control that overcome the challenging technological problems that flying in ground effect poses, allowing such vehicles to become autonomous so they can be effectively used in a wide range of business applications and services, leading to new aviation business models. Our aim is to lay the foundations of a new class of fully electrical unmanned aircraft system, the UWV (Unmanned WIG Vehicle) that brings together speed, flexibility and energy efficiency.

In the recently completed ADRIENNE project, we assessed how alternative human uses either alone or combined with other pressures may affect diversity, ecosystem functioning and services in the highly utilized and sensitive transboundary waterbody of the Gulf of Finland. This plethora of evidence was then integrated into the PlanWise4Blue portal, capable of assessing interactive responses of sector-specific human-induced stressors on the Gulf of Finland ecosystem under different nutrient load management and climate change scenarios. In this capitalization and clustering project, we aim to maximize the results already achieved by the ADRIENNE project.

Preparation of a feasibility/cost-benefit analysis and a socio-economic impact analysis for the restoration of the Sillamäe-Kotka passenger service.

"The Competitiveness of Ports and the Role of the Public Sector in Supporting this Competitiveness in Ports in Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Sweden" study. Financing for the Maritime Academy 17,833.33 EUR and for the School of Business and Gonernance (Department of Business Administration) 3,000 EUR.

The objectives of the study are (1) to develop a methodology for assessing and describing the environmental impacts of shipping-related activities in the Estonian maritime area and (2) to prepare a preliminary assessment of the environmental impacts of different shipping activities.