International shipping is the most energy-efficient mode of mass transport and only a modest contributor to overall greenhouse gas emissions. An EU initiative aimed to further improve ship engine efficiency in order to ensure sea transport will grow apace with world trade.
HERCULES has been a long-running research and development programme tasked with developing the future generation of efficient and clean ship engines. The third phase of the programme was the EU-funded HERCULES-C (Higher efficiency, reduced emissions, increased reliability and lifetime, engines for ships) project that built on developments achieved by its predecessors.
Further details: Towards cleaner, greener ship engines