Cape Horn Engineering are extremely proud to be part of the development team involved in this exciting project to reduce shipping emissions by around 30%.
Windship Technology Ltd, a sail power concept that is being developed by a consortium of key players in the global shipping industry, could revolutionise the way tomorrow’s vessels carry goods across the world’s oceans.
Environmental concerns are influencing a greater need for renewable and sustainable energy across the world with specialist technology being at the forefront of new designs and solutions. The environmental impact of shipping accounts for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants including greenhouse gas emissions. Legislation stipulates that all new ships for UK waters ordered from 2025 should be designed with ‘zero-emission capable technologies’. As maritime industries begin to tackle climate change issues, ports and shipping companies are looking for carbon-free alternatives.
Wind Propulsion Technology (WPT)
According to recent studies, wind-assisted ship propulsion using rigid wings, sails, kites, Magnus rotors or other novel devices on some specific vessel types such as bulk carriers and tankers, have the potential of fuel savings and emission reductions around 10%. Windship Technology have evolved the latest advancements in wind turbine blade design and high performance marine technology solutions to achieve a much higher emission reduction of 30% on average.
This solution from Windship Technology Ltd, known as the Windship Auxiliary Sail Propulsion System (WASPS), uses fixed wing sail technology, whereby three 35m high masts, installed on the deck of a vessel will each have three aerodynamic solid wing sails to exploit the power of the wind. The system allows reductions in engine power to be made in order to achieve the same speed and so maximise fuel-saving and emissions reduction.
Dr.-Ing Rodrigo Azcueta, Managing Director of Cape Horn Engineering, comments ‘’We have been commissioned to run an extensive Computational Fluid Dynamic programme to further improve the design and performance of the solid wings. Another key focus of our project is to provide a clearer, unbiased and more detailed analysis of these new technologies available. This allows interested parties to be confident in the investment of greener technology. The analytical evidence provided will give businesses a clearer understanding of the potential savings that can be realised with the implementation of the green propulsion systems “.
For further details, see our Windship Technology Case Study