Will Wind Power Ships Be the Future of Sea Transport?
Apr 30, 2024 7:00 am
Will Wind Power Ships Be the Future of Sea Transport?
2 min read
According to UK Research and Innovation, the shipping industry accounts for 2.5% of the world’s total carbon emissions, releasing 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually. There are currently around 5 000 container ships on our seawaters daily, with 90% of them being diesel powered. New technology is now seeking to use the most ancient method of powering ships – wind.
Rotor sails
Commonly known as Flettner rotor, rotor sails extract wind power using the Magnus effect. This basically means that when the wind is blowing perpendicularly to the ship’s direction of movement, the wind rotors rotate which creates thrust and propels movement. Rotor sail ships still use fuel, albeit a much lower amount just like hybrid cars. The underlying issues with this technology is that wind can blow from multiple different directions, or there may be too weak of a wind force to provide enough thrust. Rotor sails are also typically heavy and large, and therefore take cargo space. See the video below for a comprehensive explanation of rotor sails. (16) Rotor Sail explained - YouTube
British based company Anemoi has already begun developing rotor sails. One of their projects in 2018 saw the 64 000 dwt (deadweight tonnage) ship, which travelled 174 000 NM (322 248 km) and visited 50 ports, save 12.5% in fuel and carbon emissions. Norwegian company Norsepower has an ongoing case study where their ship saved 22.28% in fuel and carbon emissions. With a payback period of 6-8 years, the ship could end up saving $1.3 million annually.
Wing sails
Using the same aerodynamic principles as aeroplanes, wing sails tilt at an angle towards the wind which reduces drag and creates more lift and thrust, which in turn propels the ship forward. This does, however, rely heavily on wind speed and the characteristics of the ship to work effectively. A lot of planning and wind analysis need to be done beforehand for trips to run smoothly. Swedish company, Wallenius Marine is currently developing the Oceanbird, a ship that will be fully powered using wing sail technology. They expect to start negotiations with shipyards to build the vessel in the beginning of 2025. British company Bar Technologies are also developing wing sail ships. They have secured a contract with agriculture company Cargill and estimate to operate ships this year.
Summary
Rotor sails use wind to rotate rotors which propel the ship forward.
Wing sails on ships tilt towards the wind and use that force to create forward momentum.
These methods are to be used together with fuel power.
Disadvantages of both methods include sensitive condition requirements, weight and space.
Advantages include lower carbon emissions and fuel cost savings.
A few companies around the world are exploring these technologies with none actually having released a fully functional, regulated, non-prototype boat yet.
Both these methods are hybrid approaches which means that there will still be some carbon emissions. These technologies are also still in the early developmental stages.
Do you think wind power will be the future of shipping? Do you think the projects mentioned in this article are any good? Share your thoughts by replying to this email!
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