Winds of Change, a wind sail project by Smart Green Shipping (SGS) that aims to develop its ground-breaking FastRig technology, is one of 19 projects selected to receive funding from the UK Government’s £60 million initiative to supercharge the development of clean maritime solutions.
As explained, the funds will be used to develop a new UK-designed-and-built wing sail, a 20metre high ‘FastRig’ installed on board a vessel, bringing the maritime industry closer to efficiently harnessing wind power for propulsion.
This latest funding displays growing support for the FastRigs technology, which recently secured a £1.35 million investment from MOL Drybulk Ltd (MOLDB) and Scottish Enterprise, building on the £1.8million grant from Scottish Enterprise last year with £3.2million match-funded by the private sector.
Climate science is clear that shipping must rapidly reduce emissions in the short term. Wind power, harnessed using sophisticated digital software and well-engineered equipment, is at present the fastest way for the sector to reduce fuel consumption and related emissions.
..says SGS CEO, Diane Gilpin.
FastRig is an innovative retractable, recyclable rigid wing sail designed to be easily retrofitted to existing commercial vessels with available deck space. Department for Transport analysis calculates that more than 40,000 vessels – particularly bulkers and tankers – are currently suitable for installations of wind technologies such as FastRig. Fuel and GHG emissions savings verified during an earlier InnovateUK funded feasibility study point to a minimum of 20% reduction per annum in emissions through use of the FastRig technology and TradeWind smart analysis tool.
Collaboration is essential for new technology to accelerate at the speed we need to address climate change, which is why we are developing FastRig together with a group of industry experts from all areas of the shipping ecosystem, bringing exemplary, world-leading design, engineering, commercial and ship operating knowledge to the table.
..Gilpin continues,
The Winds of Change project is being delivered with The University of Southampton, and project partners include Humphreys Yacht Design, Houlder, Malin Group, Caley Ocean Systems, Argo Engineering, Lloyd’s Register, MOL DryBulk (part of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines) and Drax.
