"So satisfying when I was able to present my results"

He likes high expectations, responsibilities and being able to perform together with others in projects. And that was exactly what distinguished Alfred Rapaport's year as a Lighthouse Trainee. One of the highlights was to be trusted to lead his own project.

Alfa Laval in Tumba was the last of three companies that Alfred Rapaport worked for during his trainee year. According to plans, he would be there between May and September last year, but a project he had started was too big to be completed on time. So he stayed another three months.

"I developed a sales tool that was based on the fuel systems on ships. It was about showing what savings you can make, both in money and emissions, through different options of products. The idea is to be able to tailor the best solution according to the type of ship. Through the tool, shipowners can directly find out how much money they save and how much less carbon dioxide emissions are generated through the product they have chosen."

It was tough at times but at the same time, he says, "very satisfying" when he was able to show the project's results in December.

Was this the most fun that the trainee period generated?

"It was of course one of the highlights, but in summary I would say that the most fun has been the opportunity to be involved in several different projects. No matter what you do, I think it's fun to work with others, to live up to expectations and to perform."

He has tested various things, but says that alternative fuels have been a common thread throughout the trainee period. At Stena Teknik in Gothenburg, where he was first, he worked on a hydrogen project and at SSPA's Stockholm office, he put a lot of effort into a study of the entire value chain of alternative fuels.

"I like to systematize and analyze, to try to sort out and get something meaningful out of a whole lot of information. This is something I have understood that I am good at", says Alfred Rapaport and continues:

"The trainee program provides an insight into the industry and what opportunities there are at the same time as you will discover what you yourself think is fun and driven by."

Despite the pandemic, he also had the opportunity to travel a bit and see shipping up close.

"At Stena, I got to take part in several weighings, when all weight on board is inventoried and the ship's depth in the water is measured."

One of the inventories was made at sea during severe weather on round trip between Karlskrona and Gdynia.

"It was a real adventure. My colleague became seasick and I had to run around in the engine room and all the various nooks and crannies and continue the investigation. The crew showed me around. It was fun to get to know them a little and see shipping for real."

Born and raised in Stockholm and with a great interest in machines and vehicles, it was not a big surprise when Alfred Rapaport chose to study mechanical engineering at KTH after high school.

"Before the master's, I chose marine systems. I have not regretted it. I did my master thesis job at Wallenius, in the project wPCC."

In 2020, wPCC (Wind Powered Car Carrier) changed its name to Oceanbird. And for Alfred Rapaport, the circle is now closed. Since the turn of the year, he has been employed in the project that develops a wind-powered car carrier.

"I'm a performance engineer. I will deal with performance data, look at different cases around wind sails and what they could provide for savings and link this to the regulations regarding emissions that are underway. It's exciting. I have really ended up at the right place", says Alfred Rapaport.

To the trainee programme