To make ships more eco-efficient, engineers have been working with alternative fuels. A Norwegian engineer is currently pursuing a new approach: With VindskipTM, he has designed a cargo ship that is powered by wind and gas.
Software developed by Fraunhofer researchers will ensure an optimum use of the available wind energy at any time.
International shipping is transporting 90 percent of all goods on earth. Running on heavy fuel oil freighters contribute to pollution. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) wants to reduce the environmental impact of ocean liners. One of the measures: Starting from 2020, ships will only be allowed to use fuel containing maximum 0.1 percent sulfur in their fuel in certain areas. However, the higher-quality fuel with less sulfur is more expensive than the heavy fuel oil which is currently used. Shipping companies are thus facing a major challenge in reducing their fuel costs while complying with the emission guidelines.
A new way of reducing fuel consumption, emissions and bunker expenses is being pursued by the Norwegian engineer Terje Lade, managing director of the company Lade AS: With VindskipTM he has designed a type of ship that does not use heavy fuel oil but utilizes wind for propulsion. The highlight: The hull of the freighter serves as a wing sail. On the high seas, VindskipTM will benefit from free-blowing wind making it very energy efficient. For low-wind passages, in order to maneuver the ship on the open sea while also maintaining a constant speed, it is equipped with an environmentally friendly and cost-effective propulsion machinery running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). With the combination of wind and liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel to heavy fuel oil, the fuel consumption is estimated to be only 60 percent of a reference ship on average. Carbone dioxide emissions are reduced by 80 percent, according to calculations by the Norwegian company.
Weather routing module determines the optimal course
For efficient operation, it is critical that the available wind energy is used in the best possible way. In order to calculate the optimal sailing route, researchers from Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML, a division of Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, have developed a customized weather routing module for VindskipTM. Considering meteorological data the software for the new ship type uses a navigation algorithm to calculate a route with the optimum angle to the wind for maximum effect of the design. “With our weather routing module the best route can be calculated in order to consume as little fuel as possible. As a result costs are reduced. After all, bunker expenses account for the largest part of the total costs in the shipping industry,” says Laura Walther, researcher at CML in Hamburg. For the complex calculations, the researcher and her team apply numerous parameters, such as aero- and hydrodynamic data as well as weather forecasts from the meteorological services, such as wind speed and wave height.
Read more: Wind-powered freighters
The Latest on: Wind-powered freighters
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Wind-powered freighters” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Wind-powered freighters
- Inside 251 seconds to save Baltimore bridge from collapseon March 27, 2024 at 1:24 pm
The 22 crew of the container ship MV Dali had just 251 seconds to avert disaster before the 100,000-tonne vessel slammed into the US city of Baltimore’s main bridge. The 22 crew of the container ship ...
- End of coal in NH: Schiller Station in Portsmouth to become 'renewable energy park'on March 27, 2024 at 1:24 pm
The coal-fired facility in Portsmouth and Merrimack Station were the last two coal plants in New England. Here's what's coming to replace them.
- Baltimore bridge collapse: Could it happen in Michigan?on March 26, 2024 at 4:49 pm
In 2019, the Free Press found more than one in 10 Michigan bridges are in poor condition, and fixing them at the current pace could take 100 years.
- Baltimore bridge collapse reminds Washingtonians of past disasterson March 26, 2024 at 3:11 pm
A container ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing the bridge to crumble into the river below.
- How the Baltimore bridge collapse compares to the fall of Florida’s Sunshine Skywayon March 26, 2024 at 2:40 pm
For some in Florida, the scene Tuesday morning in Baltimore conjured memories of the biggest bridge disaster in Tampa Bay history: The collapse of the Sunshine Skyway bridge after it was hit by a ...
- Before Baltimore, 35 died after a freighter collapsed Florida’s big bridgeon March 26, 2024 at 1:52 pm
More than four decades before a freighter hit Baltimore’s Key Bridge, a freighter hit the Sunshine Skyway bridge in St. Petersburg, Fla., killing 35.
- Winged cargo ship saves three tonnes of fuel per day on first voyageon March 19, 2024 at 11:22 pm
An age of greener, more efficient shipping may be in the offing as a specially modified 43,000-tonne bulk freighter completes a six-month sea trial using a combination of diesel engines and a set of ...
- Sail-powered cargo ship completes global journey and saves up to 15% on fuelon March 13, 2024 at 4:41 am
A sail-powered cargo ship has returned from a six-month global journey and saved up to 15 per cent on fuel by utilising innovative green technology. The bulk carrier Pyxis Ocean, left its port in ...
- Why Britain is burning North American forests to keep the lights onon March 1, 2024 at 3:00 am
“The wood Drax burns is imported, mostly from North America on freighters powered by diesel ... the intermittency of other renewables such as wind and solar. Drax’s latest annual report ...
- World’s first wind-powered freighter sets off on maiden voyageon August 21, 2023 at 12:22 am
It may not have the romance of the billowing multi-masted clippers, but the world’s first wind-powered freighter has embarked on her maiden voyage. Mitsubishi’s Pyxis Ocean bulk carrier has ...
via Bing News