Industry has another top topic
Autonomous Ships? Not yet in sight
04/12/2023, 09:30 am
The maritime industry emits more CO2 than Germany – a fact that drives Fabian Feldhaus and his team. They are committed to more digitization of the industry in order to use ships more efficiently and to change logistics on the seven seas, as Feldhaus explains in the new episode of “So techt Deutschland”.
Has been interested since his youth Fabian Feldhaus for shipping. As a passionate rower and sailor, he was often out on the water. And so it seems almost logical that he has been with us for a good three years Flagship Founders wants to change maritime logistics.
Many companies, including big names in the industry, have tried their hand at digitization. So far only with moderate success. Smaller startups, on the other hand, are less likely to want to stir up the competition. As a so-called company builder, Feldhaus drives digitization with flagship founders by founding and supporting innovative startups. Feldhaus explains that his company specializes exclusively in digital topics. “We don’t touch better ship hulls, alternative propulsion engines, the most diverse topics.”
One example is Kaiko Systems, an app that helps seafarers generate inspection reports. “Until recently, seafarers walked over the ships, which were up to 400 meters long, with paper and pencil and wrote down what they saw,” says Feldhaus, explaining the idea. They later wrote down the damage on the computer and sent it as a PDF. This process is now automated with an app and the seafarers have time for other tasks.
More CO2 than Germany
Fabian Feldhaus wants to change logistics on the seven seas.
(Photo: Flagship Founders)
A fresh round of financing of over three million euros now enables Flagship Founders to grow for another two years. From Feldhaus’ point of view, the top technology topic in the industry is decarbonization. Global shipping “emits more CO2 than Germany,” and that’s a real factor when the percentage is smaller, says Feldhaus.
Platforms and thus a more efficient utilization of ships would be the future here. Everyone is talking about autonomous ships – but Fabian Feldaus remains skeptical. Fabian Feldhaus explains in the new episode of “So techt Deutschland” why many experts do not see autonomous ships in the next ten years and how Flagship Founders is relying on digital solutions instead.
In “So techt Deutschland” the ntv moderators Frauke Holzmeier and Andreas Laukat ask founders, investors, politicians and entrepreneurs how things are with Germany as a technology location. All episodes can be found in the ntv app, at RTL+ music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and in the RSS feed. Also at Amazon Music and Google Podcasts you will find it.