Work steps up to commercialise the EnergySail

Eco Marine Power (EMP) said it has begun collaboration with ClassNK confirm design requirements for the commercial release of its EnergySail technology and issues related to sea trials.

“The collaboration with ClassNK is a very important part of our development strategy as we work towards verifying the operation of our EnergySail both ashore and on a ship during sea trials,” said Greg Atkinson, chief technology officer at Eco Marine Power.

“We also want to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes made during the development of previous sail-assisted or wind-assisted propulsion solutions, especially in terms of operability.”

Collaboration

Mr Atkinson said that working towards the commercial production of the EnergySail, will also pave the way for the patented Aquarius MRE system, which is an advanced integrated system of EnergySails, marine-grade solar panels and energy storage modules which can allow ships to tap into renewable energy by harnessing the power provided by the wind and sun.

Areas of collaboration between Eco Marine Power and ClassNK will include operation of the automated control system, software and hardware safety measures and installation methods.

Also involved in the collaboration process with ClassNK is EMP’s strategic partners Teramoto Iron Works, The Furukawa Battery Company and KEI System.

Shore based testing of the EnergySail will be conducted at the Onomichi Marine Tech Test Center (MTTC) and EMP is also involved in discussions with several ship owners regarding the world’s first installation of a complete Aquarius MRE solution.