Norsepower: Wind Propulsion Cuts Fuel Costs

Norsepower Oy Ltd. and Bore Ltd have repported a successful sea trial of Norsepower’s Rotor Sail Solution, a new wind propulsion technology for ships.

The sea trials, verified by NAPA and supported by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, confirm fuel savings of 2.6% using a single small Rotor Sail on a route in the North Sea. With these fuel savings, the technology has a payback period of 4 years, says the Finnish engineering company Norsepower.

Based on the trials, Norsepower and Bore believe that a full system on Estraden with two rotors has the potential to deliver 5% efficiency savings on an ongoing basis. Norsepower forecasts savings of 20% for vessels with multiple, large rotors traveling in favourable wind routes.

The Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution was installed on the 9,700 DWT Ro-Ro carrier MS Estraden. Owned by Bore, MS Estraden operates in a continuous service between the Netherlands and the UK, sailing through the North Sea’s windy corridors at speeds of 16 knots.

”The successful trials of our wind technology are a ground-breaking moment not only for Norsepower, and also the wider development of wind propulsion technology for shipping,” said Tuomas Riski, CEO, Norsepower.

”The results suggest that when Norsepower’s technology is implemented at scale, it can produce up to 20% net savings in fuel costs with a payback period of less than four years at current fuel prices, confirming that wind technologies are commercially-viable solutions that reduce fuel and carbon emissions in the industry.”

The trials were measured and analysed with continuous monitoring systems from maritime data analysis, software and services provider, NAPA and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland collected data over a six-month period, during which both the Rotor Sail technology and automation system was operational 99% of the time. The results confirmed that Norsepower’s rotor is able to produce large amounts of thrust force, which enables considerable fuel savings.

”We are proud to be the first shipowner to install the Norsepower Rotor Sail, and demonstrate that wind propulsion technology has verifiable 5% fuel savings on a yearly basis, can be retrofitted without any off-hire costs, and is extremely easy to use in practice. It’s our goal to find ways to establish sustainable shipping with minimal impact on our environment,” said Jörgen Mansnerus, Vice President, Bore.

The Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor – a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship. When the wind conditions are favourable, Norsepower Rotor Sails allow the main engines to be throttled back, saving fuel and reducing emissions while providing the power needed to maintain speed and voyage time, says Norsepower. Rotor sails can be used with new vessels or can be retrofitted on existing ships without off-hire costs. The installation was completed in two parts: the required foundations were installed during a normal dry-dock stay, followed by the 18-metre-high rotor during an ordinary seven-hour harbor stay.

Norsepower is one of several technology companies participating in a joint program of Carbon War Room and UCL Energy Institute to fast-track adoption of emerging wind-propulsion technologies by the shipping industry.

”Modern wind systems are demonstrating measurable and meaningful fuel savings for ships. As wind propulsion, air bubble systems and other ground-breaking technologies are increasingly adopted and become mainstream, the industry will reap the rewards of lower fuel costs—more sustainable than those from short-term price decreases, and be able to stay ahead of external pressures,” says Jose Maria Figueres, Chairman, Carbon War Room.