Drax Group and Smart Green Shipping are partnering on a project to develop the latter’s wind-assisted ‘FastRig’ technology to help decarbonise the shipping sector.
Drax is putting £1m behind the initiative, matched by funding from the UK Government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition grant, which will see Smart Green Shipping’s retractable wing-sail, installed on a vessel, with a view to demonstrating how it can reduce fuel consumption.
Dumfries-based Smart Green Shipping is currently undertaking sea trials of FastRig on one of Nuclear Transport Solutions’ specialist vessels, the Pacific Grebe – a purpose-built ship designed to carry nuclear cargo around the world safely. The sea trials should conclude by the end of October, providing accurate, independently-verified performance data.
The greenhouse gas emissions from shipping contribute around 3% of all global emissions – having risen 20% during the last decade. An earlier feasibility study conducted in partnership with Drax demonstrated potential fuel savings on ships equipped with FastRig of up to 30% per year on transatlantic routes.
If the latest demonstration is successful, work to install the technology on a commercial biomass vessel can begin. The technology could also prove vital to further reducing supply chain emissions from the bulk transport of Drax’s biomass, which is used to produce around 8% of Britain’s renewable power.
Drax aims to become a carbon negative company by 2030 by installing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage at Drax Power Station in Yorkshire.
Drax’s investment in the project will also be used to develop Smart Green Shipping’s suite of wind-assist solutions. This includes FastRoute, an industry-first digital system co-created with the University of Southampton, that combines artificial intelligence with high-performance computing to analyse weather data and optimise routes for ships equipped to harness wind power.
Diane Gilpin, chief executive and founder of Smart Green Shipping, said: “Modern, easily retrofittable wing sails lower the cost of propelling ships, which reduces the dependency on commodity-based fuels – whether fossil or alternative fuels – and improves supply chain certainty.
“We are immensely grateful for the support from Drax Group to create seamless and easy-to-access wind solutions for cargo owners and ship owners.
“The first commercial installation of FastRig is incredibly exciting and an important milestone as we de-risk the transition to wind for the whole shipping ecosystem.”
Miguel Veiga Pestana, chief sustainability officer at Drax, said: “Smart Green Shipping’s technology represents a landmark moment for the maritime energy transition and Drax is proud to provide this funding, which re-affirms our commitment to becoming a carbon-negative business by 2030.
“We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership as we work together on this exciting project, which could allow us to significantly reduce emissions from the shipping of sustainable biomass, and help to decarbonise a crucial part of our global supply chain.”
Don’t miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter – sign up here for free.
This post was originally published on here
