North Sea wind propulsion project launches

The Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) project is funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe programme, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and brings together universities, wind-assist technology providers and ship owners.

Danitsja van Heusden-van Winden, Netherlands Maritime Technology Foundation and WASP project lead beneficiary, said, “We’re delighted to be able to commence the WASP project and we are thrilled and looking forward to being able to test the wind propulsion systems on different types of vessels, routes and sea conditions throughout the project duration thanks to Interreg’s support and the efforts of all the project partners.”

The project shipping partners include Scandlines, Boeckmans Ship Management and Van Dam Shipping along with two additional partners to be added shortly. Experts will be evaluating operations to tackle the regulatory and business-related issues that are often barriers to the uptake of new technologies. This expertise is drawn from Chalmers University of Technology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kühne Logistics University, the Danish Ecocouncil, Nord University, SSPA, the European Federation for Transport and Environment, HHX.blue and supported by the International Windship Association and the Netherlands Maritime Technology Foundation.

Wind propulsion systems can be installed on existing vessels. Depending on the specific solution, savings of 5-20% and possibly up to 30% of fuel and emissions are possible for retrofits. Incorporated into optimised new builds, even higher savings are feasible.