On August 21st, the Pyxis Ocean bulk carrier set sail from Shanghai, China, bound for Brazil to demonstrate, for the first time, the “Wind Wings” technology developed by BAR Technologies.
These immense, rigid, mobile, and tiltable winged sails, constructed from steel and fiberglass and towering at a height of 37.5 meters (123 feet), are expected to enable the ship to achieve a fuel savings of approximately 20%, equivalent to about 3 tonnes of fuel per day. This marks the first vessel to be equipped with this innovative technology after its construction (it was built in 2017). Fuel savings could even reach up to 30% for ships incorporating this technology from the design stage.
The “WindWings” wings can be folded onto the deck when arriving at the port or passing through canals or in any other circumstances requiring obstruction minimization. They have been designed to coexist with hatches, deck cranes, and other ship equipment.
The performance of the WindWings will be closely monitored in the coming months to further enhance the design, operation, and system performance.
BAR Technologies and Yara Marine Technologies already have plans to build hundreds of WindWings over the next four years, and BAR Technologies is also conducting research to develop ship hull shapes with improved hydrodynamics.
“If international shipping is to achieve its ambition of reducing CO2 emissions, then innovation must come to the fore. Wind is a near marginal cost-free fuel and the opportunity for reducing emissions, alongside significant efficiency gains in vessel operating costs, is substantial. Today is the culmination of years of pioneering research, where we’ve invested in our unique wind sail technology and sought out a skilled industrialization partner in Yara Marine Technologies, in order to provide vessel owners and operators with an opportunity to realize these efficiencies,” said John Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, BAR Technologies.
For more details about the WindWings technology: