First factory production for EnergySail

The EnergySail, an automated rigid sail device that can also be fitted with solar panels to charge batteries or provide electrical power, will be produced at the Teramato Iron Works. The scalable technology can be applied to vessels ranging from coastal freighters to large ferries and cruise ships.

The EnergySail is planned to be a critical element of EMP’s Aquarius MRE system, which will integrate rigid sails, solar panels, energy storage modules, sensors and marine computers. The solar component of the package – Aquarius MAS + Solar – is already commercially available.

EMP is finalising a sensor package that will allow for the EnergySail to be fully automated when linked to an automated control system (ACS). The EnergySail ACS is being developed in co-operation with Osaka-based KEI System.

The production and shore-based testing of the EnergySail is schedule to be completed in the second half of 2016.