Nguyen is pictured in the centre of the group photo.

My three-month internship at CARES was a rewarding experience. The opportunity came out of the shared research focus of Prof Epaminondas Mastorakos (Cambridge CARES) and Prof Michael Brear (The University of Melbourne) on the technical, economic and environmental analysis of maritime transport.

During the internship, I analysed pre- and post-combustion carbon capture systems with a combined cycle gas turbine and LNG storage for merchant ships.

I gained insights into the complexities of these systems for maritime applications by working closely with Dr Li Chin Law (Cambridge CARES), who developed the CARES’ ASPEN models of the systems.

Specifically, I bridged the University of Melbourne’s ship performance model with CARES’ ASPEN models by modelling the mass, volume and cost of their components. The results enable these novel systems to be compared with other fuel and propulsion system options across a range of ship design parameters, e.g., design speed, range and size.

As I return to Australia, my next steps are to finalise the data analysis, draft a journal article based on this work and, last but not least, finish writing up my PhD thesis. This knowledge is undoubtedly invaluable to my current and future research in maritime decarbonisation.

Nguyen (right) talks to a guest visiting the CARES booth at a research event.

Nguyen attending a CARES social event with Dr Law (right).

Finally, the team of multi-disciplinary researchers and corporate staff at CARES made the experience extra rewarding. I will always cherish the many discussions we had on a wide range of topics over the numerous meals, coffee runs, climbing and running sessions. It felt like a truly collaborative and supportive environment.

Nguyen Cao, PhD student at the University of Melbourne