More wind experts are convinced that combining different rotor technologies on deck will lead to greater energy savings. To this end, the European Union has granted funding for the Optiwise HORIZON Project, which will look at how up to three different wind propulsion systems installed on a single ship could derive significant energy savings, with the backers of the project estimating savings could be as high as 30 to 50%.<\/p>\n
Among the Dutch-led consortium is Euronav, the Belgian tanker giant, whose sustainability manager, Konstantinos Papoutsis, commented: \u201cWe are aware of the huge challenge that the maritime industry is facing to reduce its green house gas emissions according to the IMO ambition, and the gradually introduced regulations to advance this effort. Zero emission fuels are assumed to be the main solution. However, sufficient and affordable supply of such fuels is highly uncertain for the foreseeable future, which means that energy saving onboard is expected to be increasingly important, both environmentally and economically. We expect that the knowledge built through such R&D efforts will benefit the waterborne industry in its decarbonisation journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Extensive simulations on multiple ship types involving different wind propulsion kits \u2013 including hard sails and rotors \u2013 will be carried out as part of the European research.<\/p>\n