New high-tech cargo ship sets sail to test wind power at sea

Summary:

• The cargo ship PIXAS Ocean embarks on a voyage equipped with wind wings to explore wind power's potential for reducing emissions and energy usage in shipping.
• Maritime industry leaders, including Cargill, have invested in the development of wind wing technology to accelerate decarbonisation efforts in an industry responsible for nearly 3 percent of global CO2 emissions.
• Simon Schofield, Chief Technology Officer at Bar Technologies, explains how wind wing sails function, highlighting their ability to optimize energy harvesting and reduce both CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.
• The integration of wind technology could become mainstream, especially for bulk carriers and tankers, offering economic benefits alongside environmental advantages as the industry shifts towards cleaner fuel alternatives.
• The PIXAS Ocean's journey from Singapore to Brazil and Denmark demonstrates its commitment to maximizing wind power utilization, signaling a potential shift towards more sustainable shipping practices.

Notice anything different about this carrier ship? It's been fitted with two special sails called wind wings which study how harnessing wind power can cut emissions and energy usage in the shipping sector. This voyage is the five year old PIXAS Oceans first with its new sails. A first of many as the maritime industry as a whole explores new technologies in an attempt to move away from dirty bunker fuel.

The maritime industry's got a decarbonisation challenge ahead of it. This is not going to solve the problem entirely but it's a step in the right direction. Cargill, one of the world's largest shipping charters, has been developing the PIXAS Oceans nearly 125 foot tall wind wings pilot project for years. It's a course companies in the maritime industry have been forced to take as investors and environmental groups push them to accelerate decarbonisation in an industry which accounts for nearly 3 percent of global CO2 emissions.

But as new technologies blossom the idea of harnessing wind for energy is an old one. Before the switch to steam and diesel engines wind was once the common way of propelling ships. It is a kind of back to the future if you like. Simon Schofield is the chief technology officer at Bar Technologies, the company that developed wind wing sails which were then built by Norway's Yara Marine Technologies. When you see an aircraft come to land and it deploys its leading edge flap and its flaps at the back when a plane lands we do something very very similar which allows us to control what we call the camber, the shape of the wing which controls the amount of power then we can align the wing at any direction compared to the the wind direction and this is done all automatically and it maximises the amount of energy we're effectively harvesting from the from the wind. The sails don't only cut down CO2 emissions Schofield adds it also cuts down how much fuel they purchase. He says the PIXAS ocean can save up to 40% of fuel consumption which he believes is a step in the right direction considering how expensive fuel has become.

This has got the potential to be be mainstream obviously it doesn't suit all vessels because of practical reasons but certainly on bulk carriers and tankers we can see a large proportion of new builds and a huge number of retrofits in the in the coming years being fitting with wind technology of one sort or another. Both from a you know an environmental standpoint but also as the cost of fuels become more expensive and especially the adoption of future fuels it's going to mean that it becomes economically a bit of a no-brainer as well. Cargo says the PIXAS ocean will sail from Singapore to Brazil and is then likely to transport a cargo of grain to Denmark. The vessel is said to then remain in the North Atlantic area to maximize wind usage.

As the PIXAS Ocean sets sail on its groundbreaking voyage, the maritime industry watches closely to see how wind wings could contribute to a greener future for shipping. With the potential to reduce emissions and fuel consumption, this innovative approach marks a significant step towards more sustainable practices in the sector.