Back to the future with wind-propulsion
Sail power is being rebooted for the low carbon world.
For thousands of years, humans traversed the oceans under sail. Two hundred years ago, however, the industrial revolution delivered a step-change in transportation dynamics as coal and then oil powered the ships that carried the cargoes, workforces and armies that shaped our modern world. Now, as the world seeks to kick its addiction to fossil fuels, the maritime industries are again mulling the free and readily abundant power of the wind.
The International Windship Association has dubbed 2021-2030 the ‘Decade of Wind’ as the industry experiments with wind-assist and wind propulsion to rapidly cut its carbon footprint. EU research has forecast that up to 10,700 wind propulsion installations could be in place by 2030 covering 50% of the bulker market and up to 65% of tankers, reducing 7.5Mt of CO2. As well as swerving the high costs of cleaner-burning alternative fuels, wind powered solutions also have the benefit of being future-proof: the wind will never fall foul of clean air regulations or punitive taxation and will reduce the air, water, and noise pollution caused by today’s maritime transport.
It's still very early days but the ‘Decade of Wind’ is already gathering momentum. 2021, for example, saw announcements for the build and delivery of 15 large vessels and eight small vessels between 2022 and 2024. 2022 itself, though only weeks old, has seen a flurry of announcements, with the number of vessels using a wind-blown device expected to double to around 40 by the end of this year, a drop in the ocean compared to the size of the global fleet but a rate of growth that, if sustained, suggests fair winds and following seas for this emerging sector.
(Credit: Airseas)
Wind-powered bubbly on the high seas
French shipping company TransOceanic Wind Transport, which already transports fine foods and wines via a fleet of old school sailing ships, has inked a newbuild contract with the Piriou naval shipyard for a 260-feet sailing cargo ship. Expected to enter service in the summer of 2023, the newbuild will have a commercial capacity of 1,100 tons of cargo, powered by over 23,000 sq feet of sail area to deliver around 10 knots of speed. Atlantic crossings between Le Havre, France and New York are expected to take about two weeks.
These slower yet emissions-free transits are expected to appeal to companies seeking to decarbonise their supply chains as consumers seek out sustainable products in the face of an increasingly urgent climate crisis. With the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations set to hit in 2023, ship owners face a ticking clock to deliver solutions, from switching fuels to reducing speed.
In the face of these potentially high-cost calculations, wind begins to look like a viable option and a number of companies are now re-imagining sail technology for the 21st century. Oceanbird, a joint venture between Alfa Laval and Wallenius, takes its inspiration from aviation. The Oceanbird wings have been tested in a wind tunnel at the University of Southampton to understand how the wind dynamics change when there are three, four or five interacting wings. It hopes to deliver an Oceanbird-powered transatlantic car carrier in 2025 but MD Niclas Dahl suspects a retrofit will come first.
“It takes time to build trust in new technology,” says Dahl, who believes retrofitting is a good way to market, allowing shipowners to put one sail on a vessel to get the benefits of wind-assist without the associated costs and risks of a newbuild.
“It’s the same as having a hybrid car as a stepping-stone to being fulling electric,” he says. “It builds confidence that the technology works.”
Kite-ahoy
There’s growing interest in wind-assisted technologies, where traditionally powered vessels are boosted by the deployment of a tethered kite device. Nantes-based Airseas recently completed the first installation of its automated kite, Seawing, on a commercial vessel. Over the next six months, the Airbus-chartered ro-ro Ville de Bordeaux, which carries aircraft components, will deploy the 500m2 Seawing on its monthly transatlantic journeys. The kite, which can be retrofitted in just two days and is deployed at the push of a button, uses digital twin and automation technology to optimise its use of the wind, delivering an average 20% saving in fuel consumption and emissions.
(Credit: Oceanbird)
Later this year, Michelin’s WISAMO inflatable wing sail system will be trialled on the ro-ro container ship, MN Pélican, on its regular UK-Spain crossing. Like Airseas, the company hopes its technology will deliver fuel savings of up to 20%.
It’s not all plain sailing, of course, with the need to manage stability and address crew training issues. Wind should, however, be part of the conversation, says Oceanbird’s Niclas Dahl.
“Different ship types, different routes and different types of cargo all have different needs so there’s no one technology that solves everything, no silver bullet,” he says. “We need everything.”
Amy McLellan is a journalist and author. She was previously editor of Energy Day. Twitter: @AmyMcLellan2