Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP)
Decarbonisation of shipping is one of the greatest maritime challenge and the demand for low carbon solutions is growing. In the research project Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) we will investigate how wind solutions can be more commercially attractive for the future in the North Sea region. The WASP project will help to accelerate this decarbonisation transition by giving the market and policy makers clear indicators on operational parameters, fuel savings, business models and a collection of additional demonstrator vessels to highlight the wind-assisting propulsion potential.
- Ship owners, wind-assist technology providers and universities are involved
- 15 partners. 5 shipping partners; Scandlines, Boeckmans Ship Management, Van Dam Shipping, Rörd Braren and Boomsma Shipping. 8 expert partners; Chalmers University of Technology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kühne Logistics University, the Danish Ecocouncil, Nord University, SSPA Sweden, the European Federation for Transport and Environment, HHX.blue. 2 partner organizations; the International Windship Association and the Netherlands Maritime Technology Foundation.
- Financed by the Interreg North Sea Europe programme, as part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
- Project period: 2019-2021
SSPA’s experts will evaluate the performance in full scale of the wind propulsion systems installed on 5 vessels, develop performance indicators, and describe ship owners' expectations and experiences of operational performances, cost and risks related to wind assistance.
Contacts
WASP project launched
The Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) project has recently been officially approved and launched. This project brings together universities, wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to research, trial and validate the operational performance of a selection of wind propulsion solutions. SSPA is one of the expert partners that will test wind propulsion systems on different types of vessels, routes and sea conditions. WASP is funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe programme.
Wind powered car carrier
In the research project Wind Powered Car Carrier (wPCC) a wind-powered vessel will be developed, from concept to a technical and financially viable design ready to be built within 3-5 years. This project aims to pave the way for a paradigm shift in maritime transport by demonstrating that this new transport concept is possible even in the near future. We do not necessarily need to wait until 2050 to reach IMO's goal of 50% reduction of greenhouse gases.