Wind propulsion outlook remains bright with a stiffening breeze

According IWSA, the momentum in wind propulsion is continuing to grow, while there are the early signs that investment, installations and production lines are starting to ramp up.

As wind propulsion is compatible with all fuel choices and is available now, there is significant interest in these technologies to deliver benefits when it comes to EEDI/EEXI calculations and as a clear and increasingly affordable part of the solution for CII

said the association.

For this reason, it noted that “as we enter the crucial 2022/23 period, wind propulsion may not be making as many waves as alternative fuels, but the outlook is bright with a stiffening breeze.”

The following were the key highlights for 2021 regarding to wind propulsion, according to IWSA:

• Installations: This year has seen an additional eight vessel installations, with a total of 16 rigs installed and along with a handful of new large vessel builds underway. This should bring the number to 20 by the end of Q1 next year. 2021 also saw the announcement of 15 additional large vessels and 8 smaller vessels for build/delivery between 2022-24, with more announcements pending.
• Market Maturity: The early signs are there, with investments announced in production facilities in Europe & Asia along with numerous JiP, JDP and JV announced or established.
• Pipeline: The pipeline of projects and technologies has continued to strengthen and progress with more than 10 projects coming into advanced prototype testing and others moving into premarket stages.
• Policy & Pathways: IWSA joined the ESSF and IMO with interim consultative status, MEPC 77 saw the adoption of the circular 896, including improved guidance for Wind Propulsion systems in EEDI/EEXI calculation.
• Collaborations: IWSA has been active in the WiSP & WASP projects, with quite a few deliverables coming out of those projects, with much more to come in 2022. Its aim is to widen its work with both existing and new partnerships and affiliations this year.
• Network & Capacity: IWSA has continued to grow organically, adding 35 new members, new staff positions and both its website and social media continue to experience rapid growth in followers and visitors.
• Outreach: One of the priorities this year was to reach out beyond just the shipping industry, and while that is difficult to measure, IWSA have had an acclaimed documentary aired on HBO, a recent article in the New York Times, had over 40,000 votes cast in our COP26 aligned Awards campaign.

I think you will agree that a lot has been happening in the world of wind, but there is still a long way to go on ‘Delivering’ an energy source that has the potential to transform the industry and effectively pay for itself and the lion share of the other decarbonisation costs

stated Gavin Allwright, IWSA Secretary General.

What is more, ‘New technologies for greener shipping’ has been chosen as the World Maritime theme for 2022, reflecting the need to support a green transition of the maritime sector into a sustainable future.

WiSP2 Project Launched

WiSP phase 2 was launched under co-ordination by MARIN and co-initiator ABS for another project with a duration of 2 years.

This follows the earlier successful WiSP1 project, which, despite its modest size, was used as one of the main inputs for the recent updates to the EEDI/EEXI methods for wind propulsion.

WiSP2 continues on the WiSP1 legacy with the following objectives:

• Extended & improved knowledge base for performance prediction
• Investigation of prediction methods and compliance to common manoeuvring and seakeeping criteria with
  substantial wind propulsion
• Proposals for improved standards and rules & regulations for (modest) wind assistance and new ones for wind as main propulsion on performance and potentially other topics as following from investigations

The modelling is extended compared to WiSP1 with wind used as main propulsion, routing, new wind propulsion device types, and alternative propeller drive configurations.

Also, validation is part of the scope. On modelling, also new time domain simulations will be compared to previously conducted scale model tests in the WindLab project. Software will be delivered for wind assistance to participants.

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