EcoNavis Solutions’ founder Dr Batuhan Aktas has been awarded the prestigious Royal Institution of Naval Architects’ Maritime Innovation Award for his pioneering work developing and commercialising the energy efficiency Eco Boss Cap propeller hub, a technology that reduces hub vortex cavitation to improve a ship’s fuel consumption by more than 4%.

The award, sponsored by QinetiQ, was presented by Andrew Peters during RINA’s glitzy Annual Dinner, which this year took place in London on 28 May.

Speaking following the event, Dr Aktas said: “Receiving the RINA Maritime Innovation Award is a tremendous honour, particularly given the Institution’s long-standing role in advancing naval architecture and maritime engineering worldwide. The Eco Boss Cap was developed with the objective of delivering a practical, scalable and commercially viable solution for reducing fuel consumption and emissions.”

Professor Neil Logan, Executive Director for EcoNavis, said: “This award is a significant achievement for Dr Aktas and further demonstrates the strength of Strathclyde’s maritime research and innovation ecosystem. Translating advanced hydrodynamic research into commercially deployed technology with measurable environmental and operational benefits is exactly the kind of impact universities should strive to deliver.”

Unlike conventional fin-based boss cap systems, the Eco Boss Cap uses an optimised internal chamber geometry and pressure-relief approach to stabilise the water flow behind the propeller hub. The technique also improves wake uniformity into the rudder.

Each EBC unit is bespoke to the vessel and developed using computational fluid dynamics optimisation, taking into account the ship’s hull form, operating conditions, and propeller and rudder interactions. The technology underwater radiate noise and vibration, another environmentally negative by-product of cavitation.

The nomination also highlighted the commercial momentum achieved by EcoNavis Solutions.

Dr Aktas, a Chancellor’s Fellow within the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, was nominated for the award following the first commercial retrofit of the Eco Boss Cap, which was installed on a bulk carrier operated by Thailand’s Kaizen Ship Management.

Subsequent market traction has included orders from Swire Shipping, alongside engagement with a range of major international shipowners and operators.

Having won the innovation award, Dr Aktas is in exalted company with previous winners including the SCR Group for its methanol storage (2025); Prof. Noriyuki Sasaki for his gate rudder propulsion and manoeuvring system (2022); Shell and Siverstream’s Air Lubrication System for LNGCs (2021); and Conoship and Econowind’s wind-assisted propulsion technology (2020)