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PhD Studentship: Wind-Assisted Ship Performance Prediction for Regulatory Greenhouse Gas Reduction Assessment

Birmingham City University

Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information

This funding model includes a 36-month funded PhD Studentship, set in-line with UK Research & Innovation values. For 2026/7, this will be £21,805 per year. The tax-free stipend will be paid monthly.

This PhD Studentship also includes a Full-Time Home Tuition Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years. The funding is subject to your continued registration on the research degree, making satisfactory progression within your PhD, as well as attendance on and successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice.

International applicants are reminded, that it if they are successful following interview, they are liable to pay the fee difference between the Home and International Tuition Fee Rate. The tuition fees for new doctoral researchers are listed

here

.

All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status.

Application Closing Date:

Midday (UK Time) on

25

th

November 2026

for a start date of

3

rd

May 2027.

How to Apply

To apply, please follow the below steps:

Complete the

BCU Online Application Form.

Complete the

Doctoral Studentship Proposal Form

in full, ensuring that you quote the project ID. You will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement on the BCU online application form.

Upload two references to your online application form (at least one of which must be an academic reference).

Upload your qualification(s) for entry onto the research degree programme. This will be Bachelor/Master’s certificate(s) and transcript(s).

International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification. Please see the list of English language qualifications accepted

here

. Please check the individual research degree course page for the required scores.

Project Title:

Wind-Assisted Ship Performance Prediction for Regulatory Greenhouse Gas Reduction Assessment

Project Lead:

Professor Jean-Baptiste R. G. Souppez

Project ID:

ENG-54930005

Project Description:

Shipping is responsible for around ~90% of global trade, and ~3% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Stringent measures have been implemented by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to reduce emissions, and reach net 0 by 2050. Therefore, shipping needs practical ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without relying entirely on new fuels.

Wind propulsion can make an immediate contribution by supplying part of a ship's propulsive power directly from the wind through sails, rotors or kites. The difficulty is that the predicted benefit changes with the ship, the wind propulsion system, the route, the weather, the vessel speed and the way the calculation is made. Different methods can therefore give different savings for the same case.

This becomes a regulatory problem when those predictions affect emissions credit, compliance or investment.

This project will establish how wind assisted ship performance should be predicted when the result is used to assess greenhouse gas reductions for regulation, building on existing regulatory framework to ascertain which methods are suitable for different decisions, which assumptions need to be consistent, and how uncertainty should be reported to regulators. This project will focus on sensitivity and uncertainty analysis to show which inputs have the greatest effect and how much confidence can be placed in predicted fuel and greenhouse gas savings. The study will examine consistency, double counting, verification effort and the risk that favourable assumptions could distort the result.

The results will be considered in relation to current environmental assessments for ships (EEDI/EEXI, CII/SEEMP, life cycle greenhouse gas assessment, fuel intensity measures and relevant UK monitoring and policy needs), and support ongoing regulatory developments at national and internation level, providing clear evidence and recommendations that may inform the UK Department for Transport and IMO discussions and policy.

The PhD studentship is a unique opportunity to integrate, and contribute to, BCU’s involvement in the UK National Clean Maritime Research Hub, with ongoing research (e.g.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adapen.2025.100255

,

https://doi.org/10.5957/jst/2025.10.1.258

,

https://doi.org/10.5750/ijme.v167iA1.1317

) already leading to great impact, from significant media exposure (1.2m views) to international research awards (2026 Medal of Distinction from the Royal Institution of Naval Architects), while working under the supervision of the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sailing Technology.

Anticipated Findings and Contribution to Knowledge:

The project is expected to show how choices about wind conditions, aerodynamic forces, ship resistance, propulsive efficiency, operating strategy and the comparison case affect predicted fuel and greenhouse gas savings. It should identify which uncertainties matter most for different ships, wind technologies and routes, and where a simplified regulatory calculation gives a dependable result or becomes misleading.

The main contribution to knowledge will be a reproducible set of wind assisted ship performance prediction methods linked to regulatory purpose and stated uncertainty. This is intended to support current regulatory development to maximise the policy impact of the work.

The project will also provide evidence on how modelling assumptions influence EEDI/EEXI, CII, life cycle greenhouse gas and fuel intensity results. This should reveal possible inconsistencies, double counting and unintended incentives across different measures. The calculation tool and policy recommendations will connect naval architecture with the practical needs of regulation.

The intended findings will give stakeholders a clearer b