Wind assisted propulsion could power large fleet of commercial shipping with new project

The plan is to significantly increase the emissions-reduction potential of wind-assisted shipping.Kongsberg MaritimeA new innovation project has been launched to accelerate the adoption of wind propulsion in commercial shipping. Called WINTEGRATE, the project has been launched by Kongsberg Maritime and a consortium of leading Norwegian maritime companies and research institutions.The project will develop technologies and methodologies that integrate Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS), such as rotor sails and suction wings, with ship propulsion, power management, routing and control systems. The goal is to maximize fuel savings and emissions reductions while making wind propulsion easier to implement on both existing vessels and newbuilds. Important step toward making wind propulsion a scalable solution “WINTEGRATE represents an important step toward making wind propulsion a practical and scalable solution for commercial shipping,” said VP Technology, Erik Hjortland in Odfjell. “By integrating sail technologies with onboard systems, we can unlock significant emission reductions and strengthen the competitiveness of the Norwegian maritime industry.” While wind propulsion is increasingly recognized as a promising decarbonization technology, its full potential remains limited by insufficient integration with other onboard systems. WINTEGRATE aims to address this challenge through a holistic approach that combines digital technologies, operational optimization and full-scale testing, according to a press release. Wind-assisted shipping By combining wind propulsion with advanced control, energy management and weather routing systems, the partners aim to significantly increase the emissions-reduction potential of wind-assisted shipping and support the industry’s transition toward low- and zero-emission operations, as per the release. It was also revealed that the project will use demonstration vessels from shipping companies Odfjell SE and Seatrans, providing operational data to validate technologies and support commercial deployment.The consortium includes Kongsberg Maritime (project owner), SINTEF Ocean, SINTEF Digital, Odfjell SE, Seatrans, DNV, StormGeo, OsloMet, Norsepower, bound4blue, Corvus, OMS and DIGICAT. WINTEGRATE is a three-year research and innovation project funded through Norway’s Green Platform initiative. The project focuses on developing integrated solutions for wind-assisted propulsion to accelerate the decarbonization of global shipping. The project has been awarded up to NOK 68 million through Norway’s Green Platform programme, according to Kongsberg Maritime. A modern commercial ship is effectively a complex energy-management platform. Its propulsion system, engines, navigation equipment, weather information, voyage planning and automation systems constantly interact. Wind conditions add another variable to this equation. A vessel equipped with wind-assisted propulsion needs to determine when wind energy is available, how much thrust it can provide, how that affects engine loading and how the vessel should alter its route or speed to make the best use of the available wind.Laboratory simulations can demonstrate what a technology should theoretically achieve. Commercial vessels operating on real routes provide a much harder—and more valuable—test. They can reveal how the technology performs over long voyages, how crews interact with the systems and how wind propulsion affects the broader economics and operation of a vessel.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Prabhat, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, is a tech and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing on modern weapons and emerging tech, he has also reported on global politics and business. He has been previously associated with well-known media houses, including the International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.