CruiseFlex project Advances Sustainable and Adaptable Cruise Ship Design
Description: The CruiseFlex - Design for a Sustainable Lifecycle project has been launched as a two-year research and development initiative aimed at transforming how cruise ship public spaces are designed, managed, and renewed throughout their lifecycle. The University of Turku participates in the project as a research partner, contributing expertise in sustainable business models, lifecycle thinking, and innovation management.
CruiseFlex addresses major long-term challenges facing the cruise industry, including increasing sustainability requirements, evolving passenger expectations, and the need for more efficient lifecycle management. The project develops new public space scenarios and concepts, digital design methods, and business models that support modularity, retrofit readiness, reuse, and long-term value creation.
From the University of Turku’s perspective, the project provides an important opportunity to strengthen research on sustainable maritime transformation and to connect lifecycle design decisions with broader systemic change in the industry. By integrating design, business model innovation, and sustainability transition research, CruiseFlex aims to support the development of cruise ships that remain adaptable and relevant over decades of regulatory, market, and societal change.
The project builds on extensive maritime research expertise across the consortium and collaboration within Finland’s maritime innovation ecosystem. Industry partners include Meyer Turku, SeaKing, NIT, and Kudos Dsign, working together with research organisations Åbo Akademi University, the University of Turku, Aalto University, LUT University, and LAB University of Applied Sciences. The project is coordinated by PBI Research Institute.
“New long-term value in cruise shipbuilding is created through focusing on flexibility, sustainability, and smart design. CruiseFlex helps us develop future‑ready ship concepts where public spaces can evolve efficiently over time, supporting both environmental targets and customer needs,” says, Meyer Turku project lead Janne Andersson.
CruiseFlex contributes to the University of Turku’s strategic goal of advancing sustainable and future-oriented solutions through multidisciplinary research and collaboration with industry. The project supports the development of new knowledge on how flexibility, sustainability, and lifecycle thinking can be embedded into ship design and long-term value creation.
The CruiseFlex project is partly financed by Business Finland and is part of Meyer Turku’s NEcOLEAP programme, which aims to accelerate sustainable innovation, competitiveness, and ecosystem-driven development within the Finnish maritime industry.
Duration: 1/2026 – 12/2027
Partners : Meyer Turku, SeaKing, NIT, Kudos Dsign, Åbo Akademi University, Aalto University, LUT University, and LAB University of Applied Sciences
Funding: Business Finland
