HomeAURELIA Review: Designing the path to Zero-Emission Vessels

AURELIA Review: Designing the path to Zero-Emission Vessels

December 31, 2025

AURELIA is the kind of partner shipowners call when “green” stops being a concept and starts becoming real engineering, integration, and approvals. If you are planning a zero emission newbuild or a serious retrofit, their lane is turning ambitious targets into a design package that can actually clear class and flag.

AURELIA Design B.V. • Amsterdam office
Kraanspoor 50,
1033 SE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Website: aureliadesign.nl • Contact: Contact Aurelia
Shipowners benefit by:
AURELIA positions itself as a clean-ship design partner, supporting concept to delivery with ship integration, safety compliance, and class and flag approval. Company site
  • Turning net-zero ambition into a buildable design package: AURELIA’s stated focus is vessel design and retrofits aimed at zero emission shipping, which helps owners move from “idea stage” to a defined configuration with clear integration implications.
  • Reducing integration risk across the full vessel system: Clean propulsion is not a bolt-on. Owners benefit when power, space, weights, safety systems, and operations are treated as one design problem, not separate vendor projects.
  • Keeping compliance and approvals in the loop early: When safety compliance and class and flag approval requirements are considered from the start, owners reduce the risk of late redesign cycles, schedule slips, and unexpected scope growth.
  • Using a test-and-verify mindset for new tech: AURELIA describes a “sailing lab” concept called PENELOPE to derisk green technologies through performance monitoring on a working vessel, which is useful when owners want evidence before fleetwide adoption.
  • Making retrofit choices less expensive to reverse: Owners exploring alternative fuels, wind assist, hybridization, or energy efficiency upgrades benefit from early-stage evaluation that highlights practical constraints, interface points, and likely operational trade-offs.
Notes: Always validate feasibility, approval pathways, and vendor guarantees with your class, flag, yard, and equipment makers before committing to a final specification.
Notable mentions and external references
A quick set of links that show AURELIA’s projects, memberships, and third-party coverage of concept work.
  • “Clean Sailing” and the PENELOPE sailing lab concept AURELIA site
    AURELIA describes PENELOPE as a working sailing lab platform intended to test green technologies in real operational conditions. Open Clean Sailing.
  • Project portfolio and design themes AURELIA site
    AURELIA’s portfolio pages show example concepts and project write-ups, including work that references wind, solar, batteries, and clean fuels. View design overview and open the portfolio hub.
  • RINA Approval in Principle coverage (hydrogen design concept) RINA PDF
    RINA published a press release PDF describing an approval in principle related to a 100% hydrogen powered design concept. Open the RINA press release (PDF).
  • Wind propulsion community membership International Windship Association
    AURELIA appears as a member on the International Windship Association (IWSA) directory. View IWSA member entry .
  • Participation in an EU project partner list Green Gamma
    AURELIA appears on the Green Gamma project partner page, which describes partner responsibilities at a high level. Open partner page .
  • Third-party trade coverage (engineering cooperation) AJOT
    A trade outlet write-up describing cooperation involving AURELIA and HMC BV for design and engineering of equipment. Read the AJOT item .
This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. It is meant to give readers fast validation links and project context, not a full credential audit.
Energy storage footprint planner
Quick planning math for early-stage concept discussions. It estimates how much tank volume and fuel mass you need for a target energy amount, plus a battery estimate using adjustable system assumptions.
Enter your numbers to see estimated volume and mass.
Concept screening Space and weight budget Retrofit feasibility Newbuild layout tradeoffs
Notes: “Footprint” here is energy-only. Real installations require additional volume and weight for tanks, insulation, piping, ventilation, safety distances, cofferdams, BOP equipment, and firefighting arrangements. Use class rules and vendor specs for final engineering.

AURELIA reads like a design-led partner for owners who want to explore decarbonization paths without guessing their way through integration, safety, and approval constraints. The most useful way to use a firm like this is to start with a clear operational profile and a realistic energy budget, then iterate through a few candidate configurations until space, weight, cost, and compliance lines up. From there, your yard, class, flag, and equipment makers can turn the concept into a buildable, contract-ready scope.

We welcome your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas for enhancements. Please click here to get in touch.
By the ShipUniverse Editorial Team — About Us | Contact